What if
by writeroses1029
Summary: Each chapter is a stand-alone one-shot that gives us the answer to a "What if" question about Max and her merry bunch of mutants. FAX as always from me .
1. Max Had A Fanfiction

**So what this will be is a series of "What if" ones shots. I'm not sure how long this will be, I guess it depends on the responses I get for this. It will be updated once a week (or more than once a week depending on if I have time or not).**

**THIS CHAPTER is WHAT IF...**

**Max had a Fanfiction?**

_Hi..._

_Well, this is my profile so I'm suppose to write stuff. I normally don't do this. My best friend, he's does this kind of stuff all the time so he would know. But he CAN'T know I have this fanfiction! He has his stupid blog. I have my fanfiction. So, here we go..._

_My name: Can't tell you or I might die._

_Where I live: Look up_

_Age: Too young for you internet creeps_

_Interests:_

_Flying_

_My family_

_Kicking butt_

_Being Safe_

_Getting the Voice out of my head_

_Saving the World (all right, it's not an interest but I have to do it)_

_I guess I'll see you around..._

_Bye..._

_iluvblackwings_

Ugh, first of all I hated my stupid name. "Iluvblackwings?" That was all Nudge's fault when I asked her to set me up an account. Now, posting a story, this shoudl be interesting. I mean, it couldn't be that hard right? And I figured what was the harm in giving it a try? Fang's blog was his thing. This was going to be mine.

I went to Guidlines...you know the whole deal. New Story...Maximum Ride...ya da ya da....

Plot line...hmm? Ooh, here we go, this would fit my first chapter perfectly.

_READ THIS! FOR REAL! THIS IS THE TRUE MR STORY! _

Then I selected the document, past, and then BAM- I had myself a story titled, "The First Real Maximum Story".

I opened it up and began reading through it, I made it short for introductions sacks.

_My name is Max, for real, Maximum Ride, but just think of me as Max. See- we're already friends. _

_I've got wings, you know. I'm like an angel except my wings are tawny colored and I sometimes do turn to anger and violence when tempted. (By tempted, I mean Iggy and Gazzy set off another bomb or someone tried to kill me again)._

_There's about six of us..._

_Me, the wonderfully brilliant mastermind leader who is destined to save our measly little planet from global warming and other shenanigans which you would never understand. I'm fourteen._

_Fang, the somewhat goodlooking, right-hand man to me. He's the silent, don't you screw with me type. Oh, and he has a blog which you should totally check out. (You're welcome Fang!)_

_Iggy, blind and troublemaking even those he's fourteen like Fang and I (how's that for correct grammar?). He's the cook and totally has the hots for my half-sister Ella although he'll never admit it._

_Nudge, the very talkative, eleven year old who sometimes, secretly, like to perform make-overs on me, which I hate. Especially when Fang catches me._

_Gazzy, I'd explain his name but I don't feel like it at the moment. It's sort of self-explanitory. He's eight and the bomb, pyro kid that you just might not want to make mad or start a prank war with._

_Angel, the sweet little girl who is only six years old...oh, and a mind reader. (I pointed that out for a reason)._

_"BUT MAX," she whined. "He so totally loves you, it's embarassing really to have to here his thoughts. I mean, you'd think because Fang never talks, he'd never think but that's all he does! And all he thinks about is you. Seriously, you need to make him stop!" Angel was getting frustrated with her abilities again. Especially since she was trying to use them to hook Fang and I up but for all I knew, she was lying to me. She was a master plotter sometimes. (She once convinced the entire flock that she had betrayed us)._

_"Angel," I was trying to walk away and avoid her. "I don't like him." Sure, we'd kissed like once, but that's not my point...the point is...well, Fang didn't like me that way. Otherwise he wouldn't be admiring Dr. Red-Head Wonder at the moment while we all stayed together in a safe house. _

_"No- that's not what happened..."_

Just then, there was a Bing! I had already gotten an email. I opened it up...it read.

**Midge 1012**

**ooo**

**interesting**

**gr8 chapter**

**totally in character**

**X**

Of course it was in character! This was a memoir here people (of course, I couldn't admit that) Another bing and I opened it.

**Studentofwords**

**Update soon!**

Several more bings. What? This could not be happening. It was my first fanfiction. No way people would like it _that_ much.

**FacelessxAuthor**

**Ooo, Fang so likes Max. It's obvious but it's typical that she pretends that she doesn't! **

**You should update soon! **

**PLEASE?!**

**-FacelessxAuthor- and Lisa**

What?! No, the point of the chapter was to show that Fang didn't like me. He definetely doesn't like me. I opened up the next e-mail.

**borntoflyonmyown**

**You're totally wrong...about the whole Fang thing.**

**First of all, he's hot.**

**Second, he totally loves Max.**

**You haven't got a clue and you claim that this really happened in the flock? Honestly, I've read better in the M rating section. Sure, Max and Fang haven't done any of that stuff but that's closer to what's going on between them than what you just wrote. **

**Seriously, re-read the books. Re-read the blog.**

**FANG LOVES HER...see what I'm trying to say now.**

Wow, that kind of hurt and this jerk was totally wrong. I mean- sure- Fang and I had kissed a lot, we held hands a few times, and once I didn't run away. Another time, I kissed him in front of the flock. But all since we were in the safety house with Ms. short-skirt Brigid, he could careless about me. I HAD to respond.

_What are you talking about? Fang totally has commitment issues. He's always hanging out with that red-headed bimbo who's like twenty and he's fourteen. You're wrong._

A few minutes later he or she responded back.

**No, I know for a F-A-C-T that Fang loves Max. Brigid is just a friend who knows a lot on global warming, which he's trying to stop. Whoever you are, stop thinking that Fang doesn't care about Max because he does. You're dead wrong. Stop being stubborn and see that Fang likes you, I bet he's on his laptop right now thinking and writing of the woman he loves. Probably wondering if she really loves him.**

I peered over my shoulder to see the rest of the flock. They all seemed pretty busy. Fang was too obsorbed in his laptop and was typing away. Yeah, like he could care.

_Nope, I bet he's on his laptop just trying to ignore Max until Brigid comes along. And of course, she really loves him! I know, I see him right now._

... crap! I can't take that back! No, no, no!

**You're Max?**

At the same time, Fang was walking over. He stared down at my computer. I gulped. He was going to yell at me for giving up my name to a complete stranger. He saw the chain of emails. Oh no- I was in huge trouble when, I was turned around in my chair. I was eye to eye with him now as he leaned down. I felt myself getting more nervous. Why won't he just yell at me and get it over with...wait one second here...why was he smiling?

"Max?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "I told you I was on my lap top thinking and writing of the woman I love."

WHAT?! He's borntoflyonmyown...oh, I just got his name now. I bit my lip and shrugged. "And I told you that I really love you." I winced, that sounded cheesy. But this is me, we're talking about. Anything romantic coming out of my mouth was bound to be idiotic. Fang smirked though as if he liked it and then, he was leaning down closer so as to press his lips against mine.

Hmmm...maybe I'll post another chapter to see the response I get.

**End to WHAT IF:**

**Max had a Fanfiction**


	2. Iggy and Gazzy had a Prank War

**THIS CHAPTER IS WHAT IF…**

**Iggy and Gazzy had a Prank War**

I woke up this morning and went to go take a shower, only to find that some disgusting and slimy was on the handle. How did I find this out, you might ask? Well, I put my hand on the door knob and heard the audible squish. "Ugh!" I removed my hand to find a green substance that smelled worse than a skunk. I held my hand out…smell and slime, only one of my flock members could take complete responsibility for this. "Gazzy!" I called. I don't want to wake up on a Monday morning, to go take a shower and get ready for the day, only to get my hand covered in something disgusting.

"Yes, Max?!" Gazzy had called before he rounded the corner. When he saw me though his blue eyes went wide with shock and recognition as he saw me standing there with the goop on my hand, Gazzy began to stutter. "You-you d-don't understand Max! Iggy drew all over my homework in permanent marker and it was a worksheet so I had to turn it in. My teacher was asking me why I had pictures of Hello Kitty and Sailor Moon all over my division problems!" I felt myself get angry by the second as Gazzy explained.

"Tell me what this is," I managed through clenched teeth. My head was fuming as I held out my hand. Gazzy gulped. "I don't care who it was meant for, the point of the matter is that it is on _me_ now and I want the smell to not seep into my skin so I permanently smell like this. And if I were you Gazzy, I wouldn't want that to happen either. You did this over a drawing of Hello Kitty?"

Gazzy's eyes darted to the ground. "Well, yeah, and there was a Sailor Moon drawing on there too!" Just at that moment, Iggy stepped out of his room, which was directly across from the bathroom. I remained silent because I was too pissed to say anything and I figured, if anyone deserved to be in the same boat as me, it was the fourteen year old boy who had made the eight year old plan revenge on him. Iggy placed his hand on the handle and I heard the familiar squishy sound only this time it was much more enjoyable on my part. Iggy made a face and I saw him rub his fingers and the green goo together.

Then, without hesitation, he lifted his hand up to his face and took a deep whiff. Sniff and then, Gazzy pushed past me and pushed onto Iggy's arm. I heard a smacking noise as Iggy's hand came in contact with his face. Gazzy fell on the floor in laughter as the disgusting goop traveled slowly down the side of Iggy's face. "Aw dude, that's disgusting! My mouth was opening and everything." Iggy began making a grossed out face as he did a raspberry as if that would get the taste off his mouth. "What is this?"

"Bitter sweet revenge and a pure talent for managing to make stink bomb powder into jello," Gazzy rolled around hysterically. The minds of eight-year-olds is a questionable territory of which I would like to not discuss about this. "Dude, I can't believe I got it on your face! That is hilarious!" Which reminded me, I still had the disgusting guck on my hand.

"You are so going to pay!" Iggy called, "This, my friend, is no longer a battle, this is a WAR!" I felt the need to try and point out to Iggy that he was a teenager and that a prank war with a child would never end up well. "You better never fall asleep Gazzy because you will so regret it." I went to open my mouth but just then someone was pushing me away. I looked over my shoulder to see Fang.

"Do you want to get hit by the disgusting Gazzy creation?" I demanded, holding up my disgusting hand. I saw a smirk spread across his face as he lead me to the other bathroom in the house. "Ugh, a prank war, and I'm somehow the one getting stuck with the prank. So gross," I complained. In the bathroom, Fang turned on the water and grabbed my hand to place it under. I pulled away and Fang looked at me. "It's hot and I can do it myself you know." Fang turned on the cold water and then offered his hand. I let him hold my wrist again. "I'm going to kill them."

"Why, they're idiots," Fang reminded me. His fingers were massaging my hand to get the sticky mess off my hands. He applied soap and lathered it in. I have to admit- it felt pretty nice.

"I have the poop of Flubber on my hand," I retorted while using my other hand to gesture towards the one he held for emphasis. "_That's_ why." Fang smirked again and I sighed. _The poop of Flubber, great one Maximum. That will so totally make Fang have the hots for you as if you're the freakin' sun._

"You must be pissed," Fang remarked. I raised an eyebrow, which he caught because this entire time he barely took his eyes off me when he wasn't focusing on cleaning my hand. I watched as he gave me one of those rare Fang grins, "You just do stuff like saying that when you're pissed. It's your sarcasm, defense mechanism."

"But, that wasn't sarcasm, that was a fact," I replied. Still, I was smiling as Fang dipped my hand back under the water. "That stuff was really nasty. You did see it didn't you?" Fang nodded his head. "Again, I was completely serious." Fang shrugged as he turned off the water with the hand that wasn't holding mine. "You can let go of my hand if you're done now," I informed him. Fang gave me this look that said 'but what if I'm not done' which normally works on me. I pulled it away however so that I could dry it. I went to the towel and began to dry it off. "I hope those two burn their eyebrows off trying to get back at each other or something that would make me laugh." Fang smirked and then, we headed out the door.

Later that night, everyone had gone to bed, and I was brushing my teeth. I had on a white tank top and blue plaid pants. Everything was nice and comfortable, the prank war had been placed on hold from what I knew and no one was retaliating. I was hoping that Gazzy and Iggy had simply lost interested and banded together to build a bomb. I washed my toothbrush and then stepped out. The rooms were set up so that my room was just in front of the stairs to my left, Fang's room was to the left of that and then Nudge's room, and then Angel's room after that. Iggy was in the room across from the bathroom I was in now and Gazzy was in the room on the right. I stepped out with my head down and began walking towards my room.

"Ompf," I collided with a solid, shouldn't be there object and felt something warm fall down the front of my shirt. I sat on the ground, dripping wet, to stare up at Iggy with a now empty bowl. "What are you doing?" I seethed, "And why were you carrying a bowl of warm water?"

"For the prank war!" Iggy responded. "I was going to Gazzy to pee his pants and take a picture of him wetting the bed. Oh the classic of a good old original prank," Iggy pretended to stare off in the distance as if he could see.

"Get in your room now," I demanded, pointing towards his door. Iggy's shoulders slumped and he nodded his head before heading towards his room. "Stupid boys," I mumbled as I went into my room. "Stupid prank wars," I continued as I shut the door behind me. "How I loathe them," I remarked.

"Talking to your voice or what?" I jumped and turned around to find Fang lying on my bed staring up at the ceiling. Then, Fang swung his legs over and sat up. His dark eyes drifted over to me and then, I saw him turn bright red. He turned his eyes away and a smirked danced across his face. "Umm..Max?"

"What?" I snapped back, placing my hands on my hips, "And hurry up because I'm already pissed with you." Fang ran a hand over his face but he wasn't staring at me. I could see he was trying to approach a very delicate subject. Was he going to talk about us or something? Because if he did, I would leave this room right now.

"Uh," Fang stated, "You're white shirt is wet." I yelped and turned around instantly. I stared down and sure enough, my tank top was completely see through. Oh god, and my bra was a dark blue and very easy to see. "Don't worry," Fang tried to reassure me, "I barely saw anything."

I groaned in frustration. "Turn around and face the wall. I have to change my shirt now." I peeked over my shoulder to see that Fang listened to me. "Tomorrow morning, Iggy is going to die. And then Gazzy too for continuing this dumb little war that somehow, _I_ end up getting embarrassed with." I went to my draw and exchanged the wet tank top for a blue shirt. Then, I made my way to lie near Fang on my bed. "You can look now," he laid down beside me. "Why are you here?"

"Just, wanted to see you tonight," Fang said with a smirk. Ha ha, and I bet he got a lot more than he had planned for. His hand played with my hair, "Ignore them."

"You just like it because you saw- you saw…" I blushed embarrassed. "I will wring their little necks." Fang chuckled. "Stupid prank wars, clearly nothing good can come out of them."

"I wouldn't exactly say that," Fang whispered in my ear. He kissed my cheek lightly and then nuzzled his head at the crook of my neck.

"Pig," I muttered. "Careful, or I might send you back to your room," I reminded him.

"But then you'd be lonely and you hate that," Fang whispered.

He had me on that one. I yawned and gave in, I fell asleep in his arms because tomorrow,, I would have to be wide away for Max's revenge. If Iggy and Gazzy could have a prank war, than I could have a revenge war. Tomorrow, I told myself, because at the moment, Fang was too comfortable at the moment for me to have the strength to stay up tonight.

**End of WHAT IF**

**Iggy and Gazzy had a Prank War?**


	3. Max gave the Sex Talk

**Note: There is nothing about this chapter that is not Teen appropriate. I promise no M rated content.**

**WHAT IF…**

Max gave the Sex Talk

"Max?" Angel asked looking up at me. I connected my eyes with her to show her that I was listening. "What's sex?"

_WHAT?! Was she listening in on Iggy's mind again? _

"No, it was Fang…he was thinking about sex would be like…with you." Angel replied. I was going to kill Fang for having thoughts like that and at least not having the decency to block them from the six-year-old mind reader.

"FLOCK MEETING!" I called through the house. Angel wouldn't drop the question until I answered her so why not explain it to the rest of the flock.

See, when we were twelve, before Jeb left, he gave us the whole sex talk to Fang, Iggy, and I because he left around the time that puberty started to get all weird on us. So, now it was the older kids time to give the talk to the younger kids because I did not want Angel learning about sex from the wrong person's mind (ex. Someone on the street).

Fang, Iggy and I all stood in front of the younger kids sitting on the couch. How does this start again… oh right.

"Okay guys…since _someone_ can't keep their thoughts to themselves, us older kids are going to have to give you the sex talk." When I said someone, all eyes darted to Iggy.

As if he knew, Iggy raised in his hands, "It so wasn't me."

"You're right Igs, it wasn't you." Then I shifted my eyes over to Fang, his gaze shifted to the ground. There was a bit of a blush on his cheeks. I focused my attention back on Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge who were all waiting for explanations. Nudge sort of knew what was going on. Gazzy could care less. Only Angel seemed to be willing to hang on to every words. Oh god- six year old mind readers. "So guys- when a guy and a girl love each other-,"

"Or a guy and guy or a girl and a girl love each other very much-," Iggy added.

"IGGY!"

"What?"

"Don't confuse them," I slapped my hand on my forehead. "Let's just explain the whole making babies concept can we?" Iggy sighed and rolled his eyes. Honestly, you think he could see with the way he acted. "Okay, so when a guy and a girl love each other-,"

"Or get very, very, _very_ drunk."

"Seriously Iggy?" I demanded. He shrugged. "Guys, from here on out, whatever Iggy says is a lie," I demanded. All the younger kids nodded their head.

"So if I said Max is a girl- then that would be a lie?" I flipped him the bird but of course that was only seen by the younger kids and Fang. Damn blindness and Iggy…damn it. As if sensing my anger radiating from my body, Iggy smirked and said "Max- continue."

"So, if a guy and a girl love each other very much, they decided to have sex." Angel raised her hand and I sighed. "Yes Angel?"

"You and Fang secretly love each other- does that mean you'll have sex?" she asked innocently and batting her long eyelashes at us.

I moved my eyes over to Fang, slightly horrified. He returned the gaze, except, he seemed a little less scared at the concept than I had been. I shook my head and stared back at the kids, "No, see- people wait a very long time before having sex…until they are in their twenties." I blocked out the fact that I was lying so Angel, the human lie detector couldn't sense it. "Anyways, what happens is-," I paused to think about it.

"Boy and girl get naked…the end." Iggy added. I sighed, well, I definitely wasn't about to go into details and everything Iggy said was suppose to be a lie so maybe they would think the very opposite. I think a good decade of the younger kids thinking sex is with boys and girls wearing clothes is perfectly acceptable. Especially for the eight and six year old…

"Actually," I added, "The very opposite, they put on as many clothes as they can and it's a competition. But like I said, no one does this until they are very old." I saw Iggy smirking and trying to hold back his laughter. "Any questions?"

Gazzy raised his hands, "How does that get a baby?"

Crap…"Umm…" I thought about it. "Oh, the hospital only gives babies to people who wear lots of clothing that is soft and can protect the baby…Yeah- that's it." I winced. Damn, I wish I wasn't such a bad liar and that Iggy wasn't cracking up hysterically besides me. I rolled my eyes and waved a flag of surrender- yep, me Maximum Ride, giving up. "Guys-let's put it this way…sex is something you don't need to know about for years so please don't ask me about it." I stood up and wiped my jeans with my hands. "Meeting adjourned." How did I think that was in anyway a good idea? "Angel get out of my mind, you aren't learning about sex," I said this because I could feel her mentally probing my mind which is so weird.

I turned my attention to Fang. "We need to talk," I whispered. We headed up into my room and I shut the door. I locked it to make sure no one would just barge in during this about to get very awkward conversation. I crossed my arms and stared at him. "Do you have any self-control?" Fang stared at me, showing no emotion and proving that he did in fact have a lot of self-control. "Thinking about what it's like to have sex with me around Angel? You're lucky I don't beat the crap out of you for thoughts like that." Fang shrugged- that's it. He just…shrugged. Ugh.

"So?" He asked, "I'm allowed to my own thoughts aren't I?" Damn him for being so…laconic.

"Not," I seethed, "When we have a freaking mind reader. The fact that I almost had to give them a sex talk is pissing me off and it's your fault. And of all the girls you know, you chose to wonder what it's like to have sex with _me?_ Why not Brigid or Lissa?" Fang smirked. What the f- is wrong with him? Right now his silence was really making me angry.

"Come on," he whispered, a bit of amusement in his voice, a bit of audacity. "You know you thought about it too." THAT was not applicable to this situation. Angel never heard my thoughts that I had no control over. It wasn't my fault. It was just hormones.

Of course, while I was mulling over this, two arms had wrapped around my waist. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Did you mean it when you said that we _have_ to wait a long time before…you know." I could feel his smile press against the curve of my ear as his breath blew against my hair. His lips trailed down to kiss my neck.

"Yeah," I let out breathlessly, not sounding very convincing. Fang's lips found mine in a deep kiss that involved perfect timing and his hands traveling up my back. I backed away and tried catching my back. "We shouldn't-,"

Fang backed away and laughed, showing off once again his complete self-control. "I know,"he replied. I raised an eyebrow as he headed towards my door. "Just making sure you wanted it too." Then with the widest grin I ever saw on his face, he opened the door and walked out. I would've called him a sexist pig or something if a small part of me hadn't known that he was telling the truth.

Damn teenage hormones…because that's all it is…right?


	4. The Flock got stuck in a elevator

**What If**

The Flock Got Stuck In an Elevator

"I hate this," I grumbled as we all piled into a small, smelly elevator. Why weren't we using the stairs? Because Angel and Gazzy were asleep and climbing them up to the top of the hotel was very tiring. Fang tried to give me a reassuring look as best as he could past Angel's curls. "We are _never_ going out this late again." Midnight…that's what time it was.

I felt my heart speed up just as the door slid shut. The only reason we took one of the higher rooms was because it was closer to the sky so in case of quick getaways, we had less to run before flying. "Max, are you all right? It's just a few quick seconds, don't worry." Nudge gave me a tired grin. She leaned against Iggy. I adjusted Gazzy from one arm to the other.

No sooner than Nudge had said that then did I heard a creaking groan and then, the elevator lurched to a stop. "Perfect," I grumbled, "Now what are we supposed to do?" As a response, Iggy, Nudge, and Fang with Angel, all sat down. My claustrophobia was building up by the second. Fang laid Angel down so that she could sleep better. I placed Gazzy down and then had no choice but to take the last remaining space of the small box. Right next to Fang.

Fang watched me carefully. Sweat was accumulating on my forehead and my left leg began twitching. "How long will this take?" I asked nervously. Sure, maybe I sounded weak and not like Maximum Ride at all but hey- it's my kryptonite. No one answered my question. I ran my hand through my hair. Fang was curled up next to me just keeping his eyes on me as if he was scared that I would go through a mental breakdown.

_Control your fears Max…and not just your ones on closed spaces._

Oh goody, I am going through a mental breakdown. The Voice just loves to pop in doesn't it? "Max, I'm starving." Nudge mumbled. I sighed but before I could react, Iggy was handing over a bag of chips to her. "Ooh, thanks Iggy!" Nudge smiled and dug in. I shoulder bumped with mine and I turned my attention over to Fang. Then, he moved his eyes and I followed to see what he was staring at.

Angel and Gazzy were still both asleep. The Gasman, however, was looking pretty hilarious with his mouth wide open and a glob of drool sliding down his cheek. You're probably thinking it's absolutely gross that we're letting Angel and Gazzy sleep on an elevator floor. Well, we've been through worse. Shivers went through me as once again the idea of being trapped in the elevator came to mind.

I felt a hand slip into mine and squeeze reassuringly. His thumb rubbed my index finger and I tried to focus on that so as to calm myself before I entered a panic attack. I leaned against Fang instinctively. My heart began to slow down to a normal pace. Our hands holding were hidden from Nudge's view and obviously, Iggy who couldn't see. "You'll be fine, Max, you've got me." I rested my head against the wall and shut my eyes. Even Iggy, with his amazing hearing couldn't have heard what Fang said to me.

My eyes turned to Fang, staring at the sweeping black hair and his dark eyes connected with mine. "Thanks," I whispered back. Sure, I was still freaking out, but Fang was right. I had him. I always had him. Fang had a smirk, a small, barely visible one, on his face now as if he was reading my thought. He squeezed my hand. "I really hate this," I concluded.

"Holding my hand?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Our entire conversation was silent enough so that Nudge and Iggy couldn't here. If Iggy heard what Fang said, well- I wouldn't even want to imagine what his response would be. _What?! Holding Max's hand, Fang you sly dog, you._ That's probably exactly what Iggy would say.

"No," I replied to Fang, I turned my eyes off him because this was getting awkward. "I…like that." I answered honestly. Fang gave me a wide grin while leaning in slowly. Our faces were inches apart and his smile was brighter. "Don't get cocky," I warned. Fang raised an eyebrow and gave me a look that read as _Me? Cocky? Nooo._ It's a good thing I can read Fang so easily, otherwise I wouldn't know anything about him. Fang still didn't move so that we were so close. I could see exactly what he was doing.

Fang was waiting for me, he wasn't going to give in. He was going to hold strong and stay where he was. Was he trying to tell me something? Of course, he was. Fang was telling me he was going to be there for me, forever. He'd wait for when I was ready, for when I kissed him first. For the first time since we had split up, the fear that he would leave me again, suddenly evaporated. To show him, I only had to close a few inches.

I leaned in, slowly and hesitantly. We were closer but Fang hadn't moved and I was still wondering if this was the right thing to do. _Face your fears_, the Voice rang in my head. Quickly, I shut up the gap and my lips quickly pressed against Fang's awkwardly before I backed away. I turned my attention to the wall across from the one we leaned against. Sure, this wasn't like the times before, jumping into a quick make-out but Fang had always been the one to start it. This was me here.

I shut my eyes and focused then on Fang's thumb still massaging my hand. A smile spread across my face, maybe I had faced a fear after all. There was no need to run way (although, where could I possibly run in a broken elevator?). Seconds later, there was a jerk and the elevator started up again. Fang and I had to let go in order to pick up Angel and Gazzy. When I caught his face as the door slid open…Fang's smile was a reflection of my own.

Maybe elevators weren't that bad…

_That's it Max, face your fears._


	5. The Flock Celebrated Halloween

**What if…**

The Flock Celebrated Halloween

"Okay guys," I placed my hands on my hips and watched them carefully. Each of them had a pumpkin in front of them, even Total, "Just please be careful." I was already antsy about those stupid plastic orange handled knives. Total was busy just glaring at his pumpkin while the rest of the gang went into cutting off the tops. Whose idea was it to carve pumpkins? Not mine of course, I try to keep the flock away from sharp items.

Iggy and Gazzy were making great leaps in their pumpkins, already using the large spoons to scoop out the seeds. I watched as the placed the large slimy gunks into paper bags. I was, however, not carving any pumpkins and helping my mom set up the decorations for Halloween in a few days.

All the younger kids were extremely excited. Fang and I were not so happy about the situation. Dressing up in costumes and going from one stranger's house to the next for candy is not good for us paranoia types. I caught his eyes and he gave me a quick smirk as he grabbed a spoon to empty his pumpkin seeds. I grabbed a few of the window decors that were of cute ghosts and black cats and began to put them on the front door window.

You know, Halloween doesn't have much appeal for someone like me. I don't know, but having to deal with Erasers, close to living werewolves, and running away from the mad scientists makes Halloween not so great. Still, I was one for making the kids happy so I had to suck in all my negative vibes so as not to ruin it for anyone.

"Max?" Angel's blue eyes connected with mine. "Can you help me please?" I sighed and went next to her. Her pumpkin wasn't even cut on top to empty all the seed. She handed me the knife and I started carving off the top. Then we started with the goop inside the pumpkin.

I don't know about you guys but fighting M-Geeks isn't as gross as cleaning a pumpkin. Mostly, I think that's because I was fed up with the spoon so I just started using my hands. Angel was helping me as well. Total, who had given up on his pumpkin, came over and started watching us. "Eww," I muttered, waving my hand to try and free myself of the disgusting pumpkin goo. I watched as it left my hand and went soaring into the air. Then, it landed smack dab in the middle of Fang's face.

I heard Gazzy snicker and Nudge trying her best to hold her laughter back. Angel made an grossed-out face while Iggy was trying to understand what was going on. Fang's eyes narrowed and he smirked, "Oh, you are so dead." Without warning, a glob of pumpkin insides was dripping down the front of my shirt. I shrieked and grabbed more ammo to fling back. Only, my aim was off and hit Iggy in the face. Then, Iggy aimed for me but I moved and he ended up hitting Nudge. And so and so forth, the entire room was fighting until Fang and I were both standing up.

Fang was suddenly chasing me and I raced outside. I spread my wings and jumped into the air. Laughter was filling my lungs and air sacs. I heard Fang's deep chuckles behind me. "Maximum Ride!" He called out. My heart beat fast at the sound of my name. I turned around so fast that he didn't have time to react. We just barely collided but I dodged just in time. I watched Fang pass me. His dark hair pushing away from his glinting us, he was watching me. I finally decided to rest and landed on a branch to one of the trees near the house. I'd have first watch anyways. Fang landed next to me, gracefully as always. I saw that he was still smirking. "Do you need a break?" He asked.

I shook my head and gave him a confident grin. "I'm good thanks. Maybe we should go finish carving the pumpkins?" I suggested. Fang shrugged as if it was no big deal. I was feeling the same way too. "The kids can do it themselves," I noted.

"You don't like Halloween," Fang stated.

"Yes I do," I lied.

"No you don't," Fang countered. "Come on Max, I know you. It's just a reminder of everything else," he whispered. I could see his breath in the night sky. "Erasers, M-Geeks, Nightmares, all of it, I hate it too."

"All right, maybe I don't like it, but the kids do so…" I mentioned. Fang reached his arm over and draped it on my shoulders. I sighed, content with Fang's close proximity. He was telling me he understood. "What did you carve in your pumpkin?" I asked.

"Nothing," he whispered, not because it was a secret but because that was how he talked. "Someone didn't give me the time to finish." I smirked, knowing he was talking about me.

"All right, we should head back in," I stated and jumped down from the tree.

"Max," I turned around at the sound of my name and stared at me. He had a smirk on his face as he held out his arms wide, "Remember, I love you thiiisss much too." I smirked wide and gave him the bird before heading inside.

Halloween Night

The flock was gathered in the living room after we made the neighborhood rounds. Angel was a Barbie cheerleader with a pink outfit and pom poms. Gazzy was Anakin Skywalker, with the whole robe and lightsaber. Nudge was a hippie, Iggy a mad scientist, Fang had the phantom of the opera mask thing, and me? I didn't dress up. I was too busy to worry about this day going right for everyone else.

I was relaxing now, my eyes shut as everyone went about trading candy. "How you doing Cinderella?"

I opened my eyes to stare at Fang, "What did you just call me?"

Fang smirked, "I thought that was your costume, Cinderella." I stared down at my jeans and sweater, I know my hair was a mess, and he saw Cinderella? Anyone else worried about Fang's brain right about now? He had taken the mask off so now, he looked like a dark angel kind of…as in- really hot.

"Oh no," I narrowed my eyes in thought. I looked at him. "What made you think I was?"

Fang shrugged, "I guess it was the first thought that came to mind."

"Thanks?" I asked. I wasn't sure if he was complementing me or not. "So, how come I never got to see your pumpkin?" Outside, five were lit. Iggy made a vampire one. Gazzy did a werewolf. Nudge made a fairy pumpkin. And then Angel's with the help from me was a moon and dog. Total's, not carved, was outside. Fang's however, was missing.

He gave me a smirk and stood up. "Follow me." He offered his hand and I gladly took it. The rest of the flock was absorbed in their candy so they didn't notice us. He led me to the back of the house to where his room was. "Close your eyes," he order. I did as I was told. All of a sudden I heard Fang say, "Open your eyes." I did as I was told. Fang was standing there with a pumpkin. He had a menacing smirk on his face. I read what was carved in the pumpkin.

Max

&

Fang

4-Ever.

I laughed, "Funny Fang." He raised an eyebrow as if to ask what I meant. "You just love making fun of the Valium incident, don't you?" Fang shook his head but he was still smiling. We had a staring contest.

Fang caved eventually and laughed lightly, "All right, I do. But, it's only because," Fang put the pumpkin down, "Because, I'm waiting for you to say it again." Fang stepped closer to me so that we were inches apart.

I eyed him closely, "Oh really?" Fang nodded his head. I kissed him quickly, "Happy Halloween. That's what you want me to say right?"

"Max," he whispered, "Don't tease."

"Well, maybe you should say it first," I dared.

Fang smirked, "Happy Halloween." I kissed him again. Neither of us would give in for tonight to say those three special words but…I rather have "Happy Halloween" than nothing at all.

**Hope your Halloween is good. I'd also like to inform you that I have a new story as well called Maximum Ride: Apocalypse, so please check it out and review! Also, my Regenesis story got runner up on Outside Joke's contest for Best MR Action so thanks to those who voted!**

**See ya,**

**Flyerac1029**


	6. Iggy needed Advice

**What if…**

Iggy Needed Advice

Iggy's POV:

I sat down on the couch dramatically and sighed, catching Fang's attention. While the rest of the flock went out to see Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs, Fang and I had skillfully opted out. Fang claimed he needed to work on his blog while I, well- I told Max I wouldn't build a bomb for a week.

No guarantees of course.

"What is it?" Fang asked. See, Fang understands me because we're the two teenage boys here, we have to get each other. Sure, Max and Fang are best friends (to Fang's chagrin) but if there's one thing that Fang can do with me that he can't with Max, it's talk about girls in what Max would call a "sexist" way.

"Just…wondering. Have you gotten anywhere with Max?" Fang answered with silence. I rolled my eyes. See, Fang would've been a great guy friend if he talked more and was not so whipped. He legit respected Max. Heck, I respected Max because I had to. But Fang wouldn't go anywhere with Max if she didn't want to. If she wanted nothing to do with him, he would patiently sit in the corner and pine after her.

I honestly don't get it.

"Seriously dude, just get yourself a girl…" Fang started typing away more on his laptop. "Meet up with a fan girl of yours…or better yet, let's get me a girl. But who can give me advice when all I have for guy friends are an eight-year-old pyro and a prude emo guy?"

"I'm not prude," Fang replied. I sat up and raised an eyebrow. I could feel him watching me. "Dude, I kissed Max…like a bunch of times. Where have you been?"

"Well, I've been around being blind. You kissed her?! Dude, now you can help me out. Sweet." All right, so maybe Fang did have some hormones and wasn't so in control of his emotions after all. I had to give him some props for being brave man. Trying to kiss Max must be a scary feet. "Was she a good kisser?"

"Iggy, you're so weird." I heard the frustration in his voice. Fang did not want to talk about making out with Max. I've never liked Max, never understood why Fang would like her. I'm the kind of guy who would rather have a girl to protect than one who could kick his ass.

"What do you see in her?" See, I've never been whipped, head over heels, in love. I wouldn't know. I've been attracted girls and I've had interests in them but never for very long. Fang's been in love with her since they were cage to cage back at the school.

Fang was actually mulling over this question as if it was as complicated as building a bomb while blind (oh, if only he knew). He finally responded, "Everything." Um what? Everything? He saw everything in Max? Does that even make sense? No, it does not, but I'm the blind, never in love guy so what do I know?

"So, how did you do it? Did you wait for her to make a move on you or did you kiss her?"

"Why do you want to know?" Fang asked. I think I was creeping him out.

"Just cause I need to know how it's done man. Me, never been kissed here sadly, so I need advice. It's not like I can see what I'm doing here."

"Max would kill me if she found out I told you anything," Fang replied.

"Probably, but she's not going to find out. That's the beauty of it." I could sense Fang's skepticism. "Fang seriously man, do you want me kissing a girl's ear because you were a terrible friend and gave no advice?" Fang snorted.

"Seriously Igs, the best advice I can give you is the moment will come and if you don't take it, than it will pass with or without you. I took it." I heard Fang shut his laptop and then stand up to walk away. As he headed towards his room I stood up from the couch and turned to face where he was walking away.

"Fine! But you're going to have to explain to Max why I built a bomb while she was at the movies!" Fang's door shut and I knew Max would probably put all the blame on me even if I claimed Fang was the one who drove me to my actions.

What a friend he was…I thought gloomily. I need help and the best advice he gives is to take the freakin' moment. Uh…maybe, I'll need someone else's help…

Max…okay, maybe she could have possibly better advice.

"Hey Max," I said as I stepped into her room. I heard her sit up from where she was lying on the bed. She was probably resting since the movie probably annoyed the hell out of her. "I've got a question for you." You know how people are desperate sometimes? Well I was, I needed advice and I had my reasons.

"Sure," she said, probably expecting me to ask something along the lines of 'can I build a bomb'. Oh will she be surprised.

"Well, see, I've been wanting to know…what do you do to kiss someone, especially someone like me who is unable to see lips." I could practically see Max's mouth drop open. I hated bringing this up to her but Fang left me no choice.

"Umm, what makes you think I would know this stuff Igs?" She questioned. I gave her a sly smirk and seconds later I heard Max mumble, "I'm going to kill him." Ha- so I did get Fang in trouble after all. Ha, unexpected revenge is the sweetest. "All right, is there someone in general that you've been wanting to kiss Igs?"

"Yeah, I've wanted to kiss a girl." I sarcastically replied back. I heard her sigh in frustration. Max gets annoyed easily with me. I don't know why. I'm a perfect angel.

"Okay, that was really general. Well then, in your case, you should do what Will Smith says to in that movie Hitch. Lean in and let the girl come to you. If she misses, than she's the one who gets to be embarrassed."

"Wow thanks Max, that's actually really good advice…" That's what I said out loud. In my mind I was thinking…

_Holy shit…_

_Did Max just give better guy advice than Fang?

* * *

_

**_Hey- what did you think? _**

**_Also, check out other stories of mine._**

**What They Don't Know: AU of Max's life.**

**The Diary of My Mistakes: Max has a secret that she will only reveal through the pages of her diary.**

**Maximum Ride: Apocalypse: Max's life w/o Fang, finding her meaning on saving the world, and more.**

**So, if you have the time, please come and read my stories. **

**Try, try again,**

**flyerac1029**


	7. Max Almost Died

**WHAT IF**

Max Almost Died

_Max's POV_

Destiny is a complicated term…I don't like it. You wouldn't either if it was your destiny to save the world. I was facing my enemy and I knew this was how it was going to be- one of us would die.

If you know me, than you know that I will fight to the death.

_Gazzy's POV_

You get use to the explosion of a bomb. At one point or another, it just doesn't shake through your bones anymore and it loses its appeal. So, it was the worse feeling of my life, feeling the pain, the shock, the big explosion rake through me like it did.

And it wasn't even a bomb.

Max won the fight but even from where I lay on the ground, I could see she was hurt bad. My right leg was rattling with a deep splintering pain- probably broken, but it was nothing like Max's injury. She was wavering back and forth, her back turned to the rest of us scattered throughout the open field.

It was when Max fell backwards that I felt that rush again. My heart pounded in my ears as my eyes went wide and my mouth dropped. It never occurred to me that this would happen to Max. She was strong and always taking care of us. What would we do without her?

I heard the sound of feet running through the dry grass. A fall wind was making me cold. I had no choice but to crawl on my stomach with my leg so badly. I heard a familiar voice crying out. Eventually though, I was too weak to move and I rested my head down. My heart was still pounding and I was wishing that this gut-wrenching feeling was over a well-built bomb instead of Max dying.

_Nudge's POV_

It was only fitting that in a time where I was completely helpless that I stayed silent. I hate the silence, which made right now even worse. I was leaning against a tree, my head pounding with a headache and my wings aching from being forced behind my back. In front of me, I could see everyone.

And of course, it was in this time of silence that one of us chose to speak out.

"Max!" He ran fast towards her, his black wings spread out wide in a dark angel view. In a way, it was romantic and perfect, the way he reached out for her before she could hit the ground.

Max's body was limp from what I could tell. I saw across from me, Gazzy trying to movie. The world spun as I did my best to stand up. I stumbled and wavered around, just like Max did. Instead of speaking out, I let the tears falling down my cheek count as each individual unsaid word.

_Angel's POV_

You have to be strong. There's no other option. Max taught me to do that. Avoid trouble when you can, fight as hard as you're able when you can't. Right now, I could hear everyone's thoughts and to be honest, there was enough pain in my mind that I didn't have any room in my heart.

Max…she was more than just a leader. She was our mother, our best friend, our true love, and various other titles among the flock. At one point or another, I had learned that it was Max that it all came down to. Who looked to anyone else but to Max?

And now, the world was looking to Max, hoping that she could save the world for them.

_Total's POV_

What? I'm a dog so you don't think I wasn't broken over watching Max fall. Seeing Max give her strength up like that and collapse, it's like watching the Eiffel Tower shatter or Fang giving some long romantic speech to Max in front of a live audience on MTV. It just doesn't happen.

But there it was before me, in black and white. One time, people would act out claiming to the sky hovering up, "Goodbye cruel world". No one ever has the right to say that. I'm sure they had wonderful lives before they said that. Max did. I had seen the movies, the lifestyles, the world with my own eyes, more than the rest of these kids. And I knew right now…Shakespeare was wrong.

_This_ was a tragedy.

_Iggy's POV_

Never seeing, that's all people ever associate me with. But I knew exactly what was going on.

I understood the thud of the enemy falling to the ground. Max's ragged breathing and the dropping of her blood on the grass. Gazzy's shuffling through the grass trying to move though the grass? I heard that too. Nudge was groggily getting up, silent except for the movement of her loose clothing grazing the tree she had been leaning against. Angel was silent except for every now and then she coughed. Total tried his best to hold in his whimpering.

So don't think I didn't know what was going on. I heard Fang call her name. I knew I would be needed but Max was dying. At this moment, I'd stand and wait for the command.

Right now, Max needed Fang.

_Fang's POV_

I know Max, more than anyone could ever hope to know anyone else. I started running towards her as soon as the enemy dropped because I knew, it wouldn't be long before she fell to the ground. "Max!" I gave in and screamed as soon as she started falling backwards.

I felt her drop into my arms and I crumpled to the ground while cushioning her fall. Blood stained the front of her shirt, a few inches above her heart. I ran my hand against her cheek. Sweat was dripping down her face along with tears of pain. "Max," I whispered. "Don't go, please, don't go. I need you Max."

She had uneven breathing and her cheeks were pale. I felt myself shaking with fear. "Max, if you go, then I will bring you back to life and kill you again for leaving me here." I saw a quirk of a smile on her face. I felt a pang of hope.

"Please, Max, I need you more than you will ever know." I leaned down pressed my lips against her quickly, like the time when she thought I was dying. When I pulled away, I saw she still didn't fully respond to me. I moved my lips next to her ear and whispered, "I love you." When I leaned back so I could completely see her face. Her brown, large eyes were staring up at me in shock.

And then I knew that everything was going to be okay.


	8. The Flock Went Ice Skating

**What if…**

The Flock Went Ice Skating

"No- nuh uh, no way, there is no way this is happening."

I crossed my arms and stared at them. "Guys, we have a mission…remember? Saving the world? Do you think the Voice is going to like me taking a day off to go ice skating?" We were all walking through a park, looking for a place to rest, when Iggy and Nudge came back from town saying they saw something about an indoor ice skating rink.

Of course, naturally, I was the only one thinking rationally about this. Another place where we get sidetracked and then lose sight of what we're supposed to be doing, we were supposed to be avoiding that. I had set my foot down and was clear on what was going to happen. That's when it hit me- those dang Bambi eyes.

"Come on Max," Angel pleaded. "Just for a little bit and maybe, we can find a room there to sleep in or something." Her big blue eyes were pleading. It was like the force or something. I lifted my eyes up to Fang, who just shrugged. Some help he was.

"Please Max? Please," Nudge asked, her hands folded together.

"Yeah, come on Max," Gazzy too was getting excited.

I sighed, "Fine." I was greeted with a round of cheers from the younger kids.

Five minutes later and I was already freaking out…

All right, so I was made- engineered to fly. I was supposed to spend a good amount of time of my life in the air. Not on ice skates.

So I finished tying my shoes. Angel had some little kid ice skates, the kind with two sets of blades set up so she wouldn't fall. Gazzy and Iggy were racing around ( don't ask me how the blind guy was doing it). Nudge was slowly, but gracefully moving about. Me, I was taking my time, because I knew this wouldn't end well.

Slowly, I went to stand up, only to wobble and sat back down on the bench. At least the kids were having fun going around in an oval on ice skates. Maybe, instead of ice skating, I should see what they had for food at the concession stand. A bunch of other kids were here as well, most of them were around my age. A group of girls were staring off at Fang, who was amazing as it figures.

Fang was skating backwards, smoothly and gracefully, and I was thinking, what the heck? His eyes connected with mine as he passed by and I caught a smirk. The smug jerk- he thinks he's better than me. Well, my competitive side jumped in and I went to stand up.

Of course, I almost fell forward right on my face but it was convenient enough that the wall that surrounded the ice skating rink was right in front of me. I held the side of the wall as I walked like an elephant on a skateboard towards the ice. My heart was pounding and I was wondering what I would rather do right now.

Ice skate?

Or fight an Eraser?

Eraser sounded so much better at the moment as my feet hit the ice and I practically fell backwards on my butt. I checked out the rink again. The flock was laughing and enjoying themselves. Fang passed the group of girls who were watching him, not skating, just standing on their skates. He smiled at them as they cheered him on.

I was barely a quarter of a lap done when Fang pulled in front of me. "You're just loving this aren't you?" I asked through gritted teeth. Fang shrugged as he skated backwards in front of me. I was busy trying not to fall and think of witty remarks while having a death grip on the ledge.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Fang replied, giving me a flashing grin. His dark eyes were emotionless and I could barely tell if he was serious or joking around. He was my best friend- I should be able to read him easily but no, only he gets that advantage.

"Puh-leaze," I rolled my eyes. "You know you like those girls checking you out." I stubbed the toe of my blade and tried my best to stay on my feet. I lucked out, but Fang noticed and was trying his best not to laugh. "Well," I stated, "Not everyone is meant to ice skate."

"It's not hard," Fang said back. He did a quick spin, making ice skating a lot manlier than I thought possible. Fang smirked when he caught me watching him. He turned to face forward and went to skate beside me. "Even Angel is doing better than you." I shot him a glare.

"Well, tell me what I'm doing wrong." I let go of the wall, tripped over my own feet, and went to a crashing fall. I skidded across the ice and grimaced. Ice is cold and is now on the list of my enemies (just so you are all know).

A pair of black skates skidded in front of me. I sat up and my eyes connected with two glinting with laughter black eyes. "Shut up," I stated. It was ironic that I was telling him of all people to be quiet. I hated that I looked so weak at the moment. I let my eyes fall down on the ice, listening to some stupid party in the U.S. song which was really annoying, and sighed heavily. If I couldn't ice skate, who said I was capable of saving the world.

A hand was suddenly in my line of view and he spoke, "Come on Max, I'll help you." It was a promise I hope he meant to keep because, as much as I hate to admit this, I needed him. I let my hand enclose over Fang's and with his strength, he pulled me up on my feet. I almost stumbled once more but he caught me. "Geez Max," he muttered, "do you have to make this harder?" I narrowed my eyes but he only managed a smirk.

Once I was on my feet firmly, Fang reached down and took my hand. "What?" I asked.

Fang shrugged, "If you almost fall, I can catch you." He kept his eyes forward and refused to say anything else. Now, I was going at a decent pace and all I had to hold on to was Fang. I tried my best to mirror his actions, including bending my knees and trying to push forward instead of just walking. We were going at a pace that my hair was behind my shoulders and floating. It was like flying almost.

A smile spread across my face, this wasn't half bad. Then again, it might've had to do with the girls checking Fang out sending me dirty looks, or just the fact that I was holding his hand. I turned my head to watch Fang for a moment. Feeling my stare, he smirked triumphantly and said, "See, I told you it wasn't that bad."

Suddenly, he maneuvered in front of me. "Woah," I said panicking, grabbing his other hand, "What are you doing?" Fang helped me to slow down until we were at a complete stop. Everyone was skating around us. I felt the flock watching us when I realized we were still holding hands. I blushed but I couldn't let go out of fear of falling. "Uh Fang?" I looked up at him. He was staring right at me. "Seriously, what are you doing?"

Without a word, Fang leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. My heart sped up in the quick seconds that our lips connected. When he backed away, I opened my eyes to find Fang's smile for the fifth or sixth time today. What was up with him? "What was that for?" I challenged while feeling my entire self blush and itching to run away but trapped on these stupid skates.

"Figured you were stuck on skates, I might as well take advantage of it." Then Fang smirked.

I let go to try and smack him but only managed to fall into him.

Fang raised an eyebrow as if I had just proved his point.

I did prove his point because in the next seconds, Fang was holding my hand again and helping skate across the rink.


	9. The Flock Saved the World

**What if…**

The Flock had Saved the World

_Dear Fang,_

_ Hey. How's life in California? How's your parents and your baby sister? Summer is coming in a few weeks. School is—well you know—school like. I've noticed you haven't updated your blog, so I guess you're busy. Angel and Gazzy are fine. I just talked to Nudge, she's having a wonderful time with her mother. She's met a boy too, it's sweet really. I'm not sure if he knows of her wings or not. How's Iggy? _

_ …_

_I miss you._

_Max_

I erased the 'I miss you' and went for a typical 'From' instead. Then I hit the send before I changed my mind and wrote some mushy crap that would embarrass me. I sighed and leaned back against my chair.

Here I was—in my own room, with my own computer, with my school homework in the backpack next to me, and a comfy bed with a nice blue comforter—and I still felt completely empty. I mean—how could I feel like myself when 3/6 of my heart was off living without me.

Of course, it was for the best. My mother couldn't afford to feed _six_ hybrids, especially three with the need for well over 3,000 calories (which is equivalent to 3 Michael Phelps just so you know). Not to mention, we had found Nudge's mother so, she went and we easily kept in contact. Fang found his parents too, out in California, and well, it was probably the worst moment ever, having to say good-bye to him. And then—they offered to take care of Iggy as well, who, as you remember, has parents who wanted to turn him into a celebrity. So, not only did I have to say good-bye to my best friend (who I was secretly in love with—mind you) but also to my sexist-bomb-building-blind-pyro. It was a pretty bad moment.

"Max!" Angel ran into my room. Gazzy was following after. They had just gotten back from school. "Can I write a letter to Nudge?" I nodded my head and set the computer up for her. Gazzy came and stood quietly. He wasn't the same kid building bombs without his partner in crime.

"Can I write Iggy afterwards?" He asked lightly.

"Of course."

We were all missing the other three, but, I had to wonder, how they were doing without us. It had been six months since we've last seen each other after all. I was practically dying on the inside.

**Fang's POV**

Reading through Max's e-mail, I searched for something that would gave away anything she might honestly be feeling. We had said good-bye pretty much and then, during the Christmas visit six months ago, it was as if…almost as if what had happened between us didn't matter.

Except…

_I sat in the background watching as the young kids opened up their presents. Max wasn't even in the same room so my Christmas wasn't as merry as it could be. She just walked into the room, saw all of us, said quick hellos, and then disappeared into her room. Once Max's mom stopped watching me (not in a creepy way, but in a what are you going to do about my daughter way), I would sneak up to see Max, but I didn't want anyone to know I was up there._

_ Angel had stepped towards me at one point, handed me her present, and then whispered, "Did you see Max's necklace?" I shook my head carefully. Angel tilted her head and waited for a few seconds. "It's from a boy at her school," she told me. My mouth dropped open for a second. My fists tightened involuntarily. "His name is Kyle." She accepted a present from a boy with a name like Kyle? Did she like him? Were they going out? "I think so, they went to the movies last weekend."That was it—I stood up and went up to her room._

_ When I reached her shut door, I hesitated. Why would Max act the way she did? Did she no longer want anything to do with me? When she arrived, she spoke only to everyone—Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy—but not me. All I got was a nod. I went to reach for the door knob when it turned and the door opened._

_ Max lifted her head in shock to find someone, let alone me, standing there. Her eyes went wide. "Can we talk?" I asked, making sure as to give no hint into how angry I was with everything. _

_ I was angry about having to live without half the flock. I was angry that Max's e-mails were so generic when she sent them. I was angry that she had a necklace on and it was from a guy named 'Kyle'. I was angry that I couldn't—wouldn't—just let her go._

_ Max stepped aside and I walked in. I have to admit, it was hard not to say everything I was feeling. It was hard not to reach out to her and just touch her. "So," I said calmly, "How's Kyle?" I leaned against her dresser and crossed my arms. I hated that I gave away a hint of jealousy when I spoke._

_ Max instantly wrapped her hand around the necklace and shrugged. "And how's—whatever girl you're seeing now." How could she know anything? Sure, I went out with a few girls but they meant nothing in the end. I always found some excuse to break up with them (that excuse being they weren't Max). "I e-mail Iggy too you know, and he's not one for secrets like you are. So, since you didn't tell me about whoever you were seeing, I didn't feel the need to tell you about Kyle." _

_ "Let's not fight," I said. Which made Max angry._

_ She stomped over in front of me and poked me in the chest. "You're the one who started it. So don't tell me what to do Fang. I'm still the leader here." She pushed me and of course, I shoved her back. We were both breathing heavily as if prepared for a fight._

_ "Am I still your right-hand man?" I asked. Her eyes went wide as if she hadn't expected me to say anything like that. I stepped closer to her so we were only inches apart. "Well?"_

_ "Of—of course you are," she whispered. A deep red formed across her. But then, she shook her head, "But that doesn't mean anything Fang! Obviously, we have different lives now, right? We don't have to save the world." _

_ "And what does that mean?" I asked. She was so close, all I had to do was lean in a bit to kiss her._

_ "That maybe, we only felt what we had because we needed each other. Maybe, I was only in love with you, was because I only had you. But, I don't have you anymore Fang. You obviously aren't mine to keep." Max took a step back and I remained standing where I was. She…loved me? But, not anymore? _

_ "Max," I started but she cut me off._

_ "No Fang, there's a reason why I was avoiding you. I know you're just going to have to leave again and besides, I have someone who is here now and you have girls in California so—why kid ourselves? Why pretend what we had is still here?"_

_ "Because it is still here Max," I tried to assure her. But Max shook it off. I sighed, "Fine, we're just friends—nothing more and nothing less."_

_ "Thank you," Max whispered. I walked out the door without another word._

I read Max's email—nothing. I was still hoping. Damn, I was a fool.

_Max,_

_Well, California is well—California like. School is a waste of time. We know how to live out in the real world. We don't need all this wasteful education. Iggy is great. Yeah, I heard about Nudge, she sent me an email as long as the Dictionary. I hope Angel and Gazzy are doing well. And yeah, Summer is coming for us too. You should come. I really want to talk to you, face to face._

_Fang_

**Max's POV**

I forgot how amazing it was to fly for longer than an hour. I got to see the old sights from our journeys. I forgot how amazing it was to see Fang too. I flew down to a secluded area behind a building. Then, I walked to a small restaurant that Fang had told me about, to meet up just for the weekend.

Instantly, I found him among the white picnic tables outside. He had his arms crossed and he was leaning back. Two cokes were at his table. Along his face was a long, thin scar across his cheek from the saving the world stint we had to do almost two years ago. His black hair was still feathery and covered up his eyes a bit. I took the moment to take him in before I allowed him to see me.

I walked over and sat down as if it was nothing. As if seeing him didn't make my heart flutter. As if I hadn't lied to him on Christmas and told him that I didn't love him anymore. I thought it was for the best. He had clearly moved on so I did too. We had changed, right?

So why did I love him still?

"Hey," he said easily. "You came." He picked up one of the cans of soda and tossed it to me. I caught it and opened it up.

"Of course I came," I replied. A few girls passed by and I watched as they checked Fang out. He was watching me though and didn't notice.

Fang stood up and motioned for me to follow. With my soda in hand, I began walking beside him. I was instantly reminded of our first date in Hawaii. "How long are we going to keep this up Max?"

"What are you talking about?" Fang stared at me through the corner of his eyes. I tossed my soda out and we then stood by a railing overlooking the ocean.

"I can't just be friends with you. Every girl I've met here, there's something wrong with her. She doesn't have your eyes, your hair, you smile, your tough punch, you wings. Max, maybe I'm just imagining things, but I swear that you feel it too." Fang took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I--," Fang shook his head and looked out to the ocean while I stood there in shock. I waited for him to finish. "I love _you_ Max. I always-," I kissed him.

What seemed like minutes later, we backed away. "What was that for?" His breathing was rough as was mine.

"First," I said, "Because I love you." He smiled and my heart melted away. "Second, because you were talking too much." Fang laughed and then he reached out and pulled me into a hug. I rested my head against his chest. When I arms wrapped around him I felt his wings underneath his shirt. "Fang, there's still the fact that you live in California and I live in Arizona." I felt him rest his head on top of mine as he thought.

"Well," he stated slowly, "That's why have wings."


	10. Nudge Didn't Talk for a Day

**Dedicated to DaughterofHermes156 because she suggested this.**

**What if…**

Nudge Didn't Talk for a Day

"…so anyways I was thinking that maybe we could all go see New Moon together or something because we haven't gone out in public in awhile you know? That way, in the dark, you can make a move on Fang because you are so in love with him Max. It's kind of obvious. It's so cute!"

"Nudge," Max groaned. I stared up at her from where I sat on the floor. The guys had gone out for their own bonding time while the girls stayed in. Apparently, Iggy needed some more advice from Fang on guys or something. At least, that's what Gazzy told me.

"What?" I asked Max.

"The point of sitting and watching a movie is to be silent, I have a major headache right now." Max sighed and I watched her carefully. She didn't exactly act like a girl who was in love or had a boyfriend. Maybe she wasn't going out with Fang. I hadn't seen them together.

Anne was in the kitchen, trying to cook, and Angel was watching Max as well—she probably was having a mind conversation with her. "Max, what are you going to do about Fang?"

"Nothing Nudge, and if you don't be quiet…I'll," but Max gave up when she caught me watching her. She rested her head back on the edge of the couch and shut her eyes. "Tell you what, if you can be quiet for the rest of the day, I will give you my allowance."

"Deal," I said, "I mean, how hard can it be? I don't talk that much you know. It's just that you guys don't talk enough." Max lifted her head and raised her eyebrow with a smile across her face. "And the deal is starting right now."

Silence is complicated. I don't like it at all. Silence is what I remember the most of the School. The smell, the sight, the feel of being there wasn't as strong as what I heard. It was the antagonizing silence that I dreaded the most.

Just then, the boys burst in with smiles spread across their face, except Fang, Fang only smiles when Max does something that, in his eyes, is amazing. I watched as Max sat up and ran a hand nervously through her hair. "Hi," she said, "It's about time. I was about to go out looking for you." So that's what Max's headache was about—worrying about them. I should've known.

Gazzy ran over and sat on the couch, "What are we watching?" Iggy compulsively slinked into the arm chair and listened in on the world around him. Fang, however, with his hands in his pockets, stepped away from the group and headed towards his room. Only two people watched him leave, Max and me. She got up and went in the same direction as Fang. They were probably going to talk about our next plan.

"What did you guys do?" Angel asked. It wasn't as if she already knew.

"Fang and Iggy were talking about—Ow!" I watched as Gazzy rubbed his shin in pain. "What was that for man?" Iggy, the culprit, shrugged and went to head into the kitchen as if it was nothing.

"Well, I got some baseball cards," Gazzy said happily. I stood up and headed into the kitchen to let the two younger kids talk. Iggy was checking up on Anne's cooking. She wasn't even in the room anymore, she probably gave up.

"Hey," he said. I opened my mouth to speak, but shut it—remembering the deal I had with Max. I nodded my head, not that he could see. He raised his eyebrow, "Nudge is the one in here right?"

I knocked once, meaning 'yes'.

"But you aren't talking," he replied.

I knocked again.

"What? Come on, you always are talking." Iggy thought about it and shrugged, but he didn't necessarily seem happy with it. "Dinner's ready, can you go get the rest of the flock?" He picked up a pot from the stove while I left to do as I was told.

Gazzy and Angel noticed me and I pointed towards the kitchen. They completely understood.

As I walked down the hallway, I saw Anne and motioned towards the kitchen. "Everything all right?" She asked. I nodded my head. I guess people really notice my silence. It was irritating me.

I opened the door to Fang's room without knocking. Always a big mistake, in case you guys don't know that. I found Max and Fang standing in the middle of his room, making out. Oh, and they definitely were enjoying it until they noticed the door was open and sprang apart faster than I ever thought possible.

"Nudge?" Max asked, breathing heavily. I wondered if it was from shock or from making out. Probably both by the way a blush crept up Max's cheeks. "What are you doing here?" Fang's head was bent, almost as if embarrassed too. I smirked. This was way too funny.

I pointed over my shoulder. "Oh, dinner's ready." Max headed out the door and Fang followed closely after.

In my opinion, I acted very calm to that situation.

I mean, I said not one word. Impressive no?

Later that night, I was considering if I learned another language and spoke it—say, like French—then would the deal be broken. I was sitting out on the front steps to the house. The moon was hanging on the top of the trees. I hate silence. But even more, I hated where I stood in this flock.

Max and Fang, they had each other. Then, Iggy was sort of the teen group with Max and Fang, not to mention, he had Gazzy to build bombs with. Angel was just a mind reader and pretty much focused her attention on Max and not to mention, Gazzy was her sibling. Where was I?

I was the outcast among outcasts. I had no best friend like Max and Fang. I had no sibling like Gazzy and Angel. I had no one to talk all the time with me or listen to me. I sighed and wished I could talk again. At least then, I was noticed and I wasn't reminded of the School's silent ways.

Just then, the door opened and I lifted my head up to see Iggy. He sat down next to me. His sightless eyes were staring forward and his shoulder was brushing up against mine. "Hey," he said, "When are you going to start talking again?" I shrugged and he felt it. "It's annoying the heck out of me, just so you know."

Why? I thought.

"You probably don't get it Nudge, but, all I have is my hearing to rely on and, I like having your voice to listen to. I," he stopped and shook his head. I nudged my shoulder with his. "Well," he coughed, "I love hearing your voice. It's one thing I can look forward to when I wake up and can't see the morning has come."

My mouth dropped open. Iggy—being romantic? He was the sexist pig, or at least, that's how Max always pictured him. I, however, knew his softer side. I knew on the outside, he said the things he did because he didn't have a girl to like that was around all the time. It was just Max, Fang, and Iggy who were the oldest. Max had Fang, but who did Iggy have to understand him—the blind kid with wings.

"I, guess, I hear you in a different way than I hear others. And, you, out of everyone, talk to me like I'm not some blind kid with wings who can make some sexist remarks. And, for as long as I have listened to you, I think I've always known that I've had feelings for you. I talked to Fang and well, he said that we don't chose who we love, and that with him, he didn't fall, he flew." So Fang was in love with Max. And, was Iggy saying what I thought he was? "Well, I guess, once he said that, he put everything into perspective for me. And Nudge, you don't have to feel the same way, but you ought to know, right? But, if you do, feel something, please just say so."

Seconds passed for a moment of silence. I took in everything that Iggy had said (because it had been a lot). Iggy sighed and gave up way to fast. He stood up and went to walk away. "You sounded a bit like me just then," I said as I stood up. Iggy turned around and smiled, probably because I said _something_.

"Igs, I think," I started and thought about it, "I think it's always been the same because who else will listen to me?"

"Everyone listens to you, Nudge, the flock loves you like a sister." Iggy stepped closer and placed his hand on my cheek. "But, I'm the one who will remember every word. I promise."

Then, he leaned in so his lips were just an inch or two away from mine. He was waiting for me. I didn't feel the need to say anything because as I closed the space between us…

The beating of my heart replaced the silence.

* * *

**Hoped you liked this chapter. I thought I'd give a try at a Niggy. All right! Review if you enjoyed the chapter! **

**Goodbye (that's English for au revoir),**

**flyerac1029**


	11. The Flock Discovered Their Novels

**WHAT IF…**

The Flock Discovered their Novels

What were we even doing here? In a Barnes and Noble? We don't have money to spare. We don't have time to buy books. We have a world to save. But, oh, here we were being dragged through the endless rows of books.

"How long do you think it would take to read all these books?" I asked Fang as Angel and Gazzy ran towards the children section. Iggy headed over to the Music department. Nudge was in the teen section and Fang and I were kind of just standing there awkwardly.

"Six lifetimes," he joked with a smile.

We stood there, watching the store, making sure no Eraser or Flyboys tried attacking us. Yes—I was paranoid enough to believe that I would be attacked in a Barnes and Noble. (It could definitely happen). Fang was watching carefully too.

Doesn't hurt to be careful, right?

Seconds ticked by and I was getting antsy already. When, "MAX!" I heard Nudge, but I wasn't the only one. By the time I got to her, Fang, Angel, Gazzy, and Iggy were all there in fighting mode. "LOOK!" Everyone relaxed as a book was shoved in my face.

Across the front were two very noticeable things, a name that was James Patterson and then, Maximum Ride. "It says Maximum Ride. So what? It could be about vehicles."

"Or sex," Iggy remarked.

I smacked him in the arm. "Ow, what was that for?!" I heard Fang choke back a laugh.

"What do you mean what was that for?! You know _exactly_ what that was for."

"Yeah, you're right." He mumbled. I shot Fang a look, warning him not to say anything either. I'd like to not go through _another_ day of my name being used as a sexual innuendo.

"Max, read the back of it," Nudge insisted. She was picking up another book that was different but also had my name on it. I flipped the book over and started reading through the summary.

"Weird," Fang whispered as he read over my shoulder. From the sounds of it, it was exactly like when Angel had been kidnapped and we headed to New York. "It's our lives," Fang continued. I began flipping through the pages. It even had the beach scene.

Who is this guy—James Patterson? Was he working for the School? Was he stalking us? Sure felt like it.

"Oh my God, you guys have kissed before the submarine?!" Nudge held a book that was titled Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. That grabbed everyone's attention. Fang and I instantly blushed.

"Uh…" I said as Fang coughed. "You don't know that, that's just a book."

"I just read that you guys kissed in a cave and that Max ran off. And Fang, you didn't chase after her. And it says something about Fang missing hearing Max breath. Aww, how sweet!" Nudge sighed.

"And extremely creepy," Iggy continued. "And makes Fang sound totally whipped."

"It's because he is," Angel said with a laugh.

"How do you know what whipped means?" I asked her. She shrugged as if to say, "I'm a mind reader, I know what a lot of things mean."

"YOU GUYS MADE OUT IN THE DESERT!!!" Nudge screamed.

Everyone but Fang and I crowded around Nudge and the new book she was holding. This one just had Max on it and that guy's name again. "Eww!" Gazzy wrinkled his nose.

"Wait, why am I trying to read the book? I'm blind," Iggy shook his head.

"Well, pretty much, Max was upset and Fang was all like 'I choose you, Max'. Then, Fang kissed her and instead of running away, Max kissed him back. They made out in the sand and then, they were watching the stars and--," I covered Nudge's mouth.

"Nudge," I warned.

"Way to go man," Iggy patted Fang's shoulder. He smirked. I glared at him.

Just then, a girl came over and grabbed another book with that James Patterson's name on it. "Hey," she said kindly. "You guys on this next one. I'm scared about this one." Who was she? She kept talking, "I mean, with Angel's prediction that Fang is going to die before Max…" My eyes went wide and I turned my attention to Fang. His face went pale. "Oh sorry," she gave a weak smile, "I hope I didn't spoil anything for you guys." Then she gave another smile and an up-and-down on Fang before walking away with the new book.

"Guys, grab one of each book in the series," I told them. I grabbed the same book as the girl before. This one didn't have my name on it, it had Fang's. My heart dropped as I opened up the front cover and started reading the summary. The girl wasn't lying. Apparently, we were going to Africa and Angel will make a prediction that Fang will die.

"Maybe it's like that Will Ferrell movie, where the author writes something and then someone in real world lives it out. That would be so weird." Nudge stated. As the flock started talking, I went off to try to find a quiet place to read the book. Maybe, there would be something I could do. Maybe I could stop whatever was bound to happen if I knew what was coming.

I sat down and stared at the cover. Fang's name was large across the center. Behind was a model, who looked nothing like the real Fang. The guy had nothing on Fang. My hands started to shake as I opened the cover to the next page. I couldn't even read the words, I was so scared. What if this story had a sad ending? What if Angel's prediction was right?

"Max?" I lifted my head to see Fang with his hands in his pockets and carefully watching me. "You shouldn't read that."

"Why not?" I said. I realized that my sight was blurry. My eyes were filled with tears. "If it means I can avoid what happens, than, why shouldn't I read it?"

"Because, what if there's something there you don't want to know about." Fang came and sat down beside me. I wiped my eyes before tears could fall. I felt the book leave my lap as Fang picked it up. Instead of reading, he shut the book and dropped it on the ground in front of us.

"You can't tell me you aren't curious," I reasoned.

Fang smirked, "I am, but, we have no proof that this is how our lives are going to be."

"Except the fact the making-out in the desert, the kiss in the cave, and etc." Suddenly Fang wrapped his hand in mine.

"Bet that wasn't written," he whispered. I turned my head towards him and he kissed me on the lips. "Or that."

"But--," I tried to reason. "What if it does come true?"

"Then," Fang said slowly, "It does."

"No," I said firmly, "No, I can't let this happen. Give me the book." I reached over and tried to grab the book. "Fang," I said. He held me back from getting the book. "Listen, maybe there's something I can do. I could save your life."

"Max that's not how things work." I frowned as Fang placed his hands on my shoulder and forced me to sit back down. My eyes darted to the book and then back to his face. "Max, why would you try to save my life…again? You already have."

"Because…Fang…I," my words caught up in my throat, "I can't lose you." Instinctively, my hand went up to his cheek and then played with his hair. Fang leaned down slowly. "You're my best friend." I heard Fang hitch his breath.

"Yeah," he pulled away and leaned back against the wall. "You're my best friend too. But if you care Max, you won't read this book." Fang grabbed it and started walking away without looking back.

"Fang," I called after him. "What would you do if it's the other way around? What if I was the one who was supposed to die first?"

"That's different Max," he said.

"And why's that?" I demanded. "Are you saying you would read the book?"

"Yes, because I love you a lot more than just my best friend."

"That's not different!" I called when he turned his back on me. "I love you too," I whispered.

I heard the book Fang was holding hit the ground. He turned around. He took two large steps towards me and looked me in the eyes. He was still wearing his mask. "Max? Do you really mean that?"

I reached up and kissed him firmly on the lips. "Do you think that's written?" I asked when we broke apart.

"No." Fang leaned in again when—

"Max? Fang? Can we go now?" I sighed and Fang laughed at my reaction.

"Listen though, you have to promise you won't read the book."

"But Fang-."

"Do you love me?" He wrapped his hand in mine.

"Yes, but,--."

"Then I'm fine with dying."

"Fang," I said. He squeezed my hand.

"Max," he replied, "Just say you love me and let's go. That's all I need." I sighed.

"I love you," I replied giving in.

He kissed my cheek, "Love you too. Now let's go."


	12. Counting Stars

_Dear Readers,_

_I apologize in advance. This is not a chapter to the story for which you have asked Fanfiction to alert you about. This is a special introduction to my first novel, __Counting Stars_, _which will be on sale June 1, 2011 on . You will find the web links up on my fanfiction profile by that day. For all of you who have been reading my work, this is a thank you—the summary of the book, plus the first chapter. I hope you enjoy it! You will have the choice of buying either the paperback, hardcover, or Ebook version._

_Sincerely,_

_Rose_

* * *

"In the end, it's all the same, just like the stars in the sky."

Annabel Hartman holds horrible secrets in her heart; she is the sole caretaker of her brother Ryan, her mother's killer is still haunting her, and she has a predetermined destiny she can't escape.

Annabel believes she is meant to be alone.

However, after moving to a new town, she becomes friends with the Alderics, four brothers with a curse as terrible as her own.

They reveal to her that each of them have the power of an element; earth, water, fire, and wind.

Annabel is instantly welcomed into their world and she begins to let them into hers. But as she gets closer to the Alderics, she begins to believe that meeting them was a part of the destiny she never wanted.

* * *

_Chapter 1_

"_**If you aren't strong, you'll die."**_

_I am cursed…_

_…I am destined to be alone._

_What else could explain the life I have been given?_

_I am a monster after all; I don't deserve anything more than what I have._

Before me was the familiar, red punching bag; I took a deep breath and shut my eyes. I focused on every muscle in my body. I began to slowly flex each one from my arms to my ankles. I let my thoughts dull down to a soft murmur as I focused only on this one hit that I was going to make. I inhaled when…

"Annabel! We're going to be late!" With a frustrated grunt, I went in for one solid kick to the bag. My leg connected with a loud smack into the center of the sack. I heard the black, plastic bottom scrap across the floor and, soon afterward, the usual thud as it smacked against the wall. My fists tightened as I stared at the inanimate enemy.

"I don't want to be here," I told no one but myself. With a soft shrug and a quick shake of my head to get my bangs out of my eyes, I turned around and placed my black converse sneakers on. As I tied my shoes, my thoughts turned back on into a constant roar like they had been ever since we moved here, into this dumb, awful house.

Just two weeks ago, my brother and I had moved here to some small suburban town that people never heard about. The day my mother told me we were moving was on my sixteenth birthday two and a half months ago. Not long after that, my mother died, and my father became an alcoholic. My brother and I still moved here to this house, but we were pretty much orphans as Dad entered rehab to deal with the drinking, and mom was buried in the cemetery back home. At the moment, we were living off the checks our father sent us and someday soon, the money I would earn through my job at a local restaurant in town. Right now though, being here in a new world was not exciting, especially considering the circumstances that my brother and I were forced into. The only choice I had now was to make sure I could protect him, and make everything better for him. I wasn't too concerned with myself.

"Annabel!" I heard again. I snapped back into reality.

"I'm coming," I called back, a bit of anger in my tone, which I instantly regretted. I grabbed my backpack, an army green messenger bag, and ran up the stairs with an easy sprint. My bag hit against my leg the entire way up as my hand reached for the doorknob. When I opened the door to the main floor, I saw my younger brother standing there, looking right at me impatiently.

"Pop's will be mad if you put another dent in the wall." Ryan said with a grin that was only a mere lift at the corner of his lips. He fiddled with his black framed glasses. "And he did say we weren't supposed to be late for school on our first day." I sighed and ran a hand through my brown hair. _Yeah, he said that before everything happened…I wondered what he would say now…_

"I know," I huffed. Why did Ryan seem more responsible than me? "Let's go, we do have to walk after all." I placed an arm around my brother's shoulders. He was only a few inches shorter than me, and in time, I would assume he would outgrow me. With that sad thought, I led us out the door, shut it behind us, and headed down the steps.

Here, where we lived now, was nowhere near home. Home was better than this ever could be. The green grass, the white-picket fences, the clean sidewalks, and small trees weren't as free, open, or loving as the ones back where we used to be, my family and I. Here it was copies of the same house all lined up, paved roads instead of dirt, and prep schools that made us wear uniforms. "Annabel," my brother was only eleven years old and still, he was more of an adult than I was. "Everything will be okay. Mom would've liked it here, so why can't you like it too?"

I cringed at the acknowledgment. "I can't…because," my eyes drifted down to our feet taking each step slowly, one at a time, "Because, mom would've made this place okay. She's not here to do that." _At least if she was still here, I could still have her, even if she didn't love me…At least, I'd feel like I had a purpose…_ I shook off my thoughts, knowing that it didn't matter if whether or not mom was here. I would still have my _purpose_.

"She did it for us, though," Ryan continued, "She did it because—," I clamped my hand over his mouth. We stopped walking as I kneeled down in front of him. I glared at him, with a cold stare that I wish I didn't have to use on him. My hand still pressed firmly against his lips.

"We _never_ speak of it," I whispered harshly. "_Never_, do you understand me?" Ryan nodded his head. His brown eyes were filling up with tears already. I dropped my hand from his mouth, which was trembling now. A gust of wind brushed his brown hair in front of his eyes as I looked away from him and at the bottom of a white fence mixing in with the green grass, "I'm sorry. But you ought to know better."_ My secret is a secret for a reason._

"I know, but," Ryan was hesitant, careful, "We never talk of it, even when we should." I patted his shoulder, in a way, telling him that we would discuss it some other time in private. His shoulders sagged, and his eyes went down to the sidewalk to watch our moving feet. I lifted my eyes up to the perfect blue sky with the clouds lazily rolling along. I felt like I had entered a nightmare, and I was the monster in the center spotlight.

"Let's just," I sighed and once again ran my hand through my long waves of hair. "Let's just get through today, okay? And tell you what, I'll show you some new fighting moves for you to work on." A smile, a small one at that, appeared on my brother's face as he fixed his glasses.,"Now come on," I said, once again placing a protective arm over my brother's shoulders, "As your sister, I have to make sure you make it to your middle school orientation."

As it was, we were just walking on the way to Hawthorne, a private school not far from home, when we ran into them.

"You've got some nerve, you know that!" Both Ryan and I lifted our heads towards the sound. At the corner of the sidewalk where we would have to cross, a group of teens suddenly appeared. The one in the front looked a bit annoyed with his hands shoved in his pockets, and his eyes clamped shut. He was biting his bottom lip while mumbling to himself. He was dressed in the Hawthorne uniform like Ryan.

Just behind him, the other three walked, and by the looks of it, they were all related. They had the same chins, noses, and even black feathery hair. The tallest of them had his hand on the shoulder of the smallest. Assuming he was the oldest, I quickly noted his dark green shirt with a brown tie and tan dress pants with brown leather shoes. His hair went down to the small of his back and was flowing about in the wind. He was slightly glaring at the one in the front, but not in a mean way, just a frustrated way as if he was used to dealing with this.

"Honestly, you need to relax. I hate you too, but it's not like we need _everyone_ to know," the voice was cold and smooth. It came from the second tallest boy, who was wearing the usual boy's uniform for Hawthorne too; a black vest with the crest, a white shirt and black tie, and black pants with black leather shoes. The youngest whose eyes were casted down on the ground also had the same clothing as his two brothers.

"Well!" The boy who was in front turned around to face them. His eyes were open now, and I was suddenly taken aback. Unlike the other three, whose eyes were all a deep forest green, his were a piercing blue that seemed too scary to be real. "I could care less. And _what_ are you staring at?" Suddenly, his eyes were on my brother and me. Instinctively, I pushed Ryan behind me while I glared at him.

"Nothing special," I retorted with a snide. I felt myself glare again as the three other boys snickered at my response. The one who had yelled at me stood up straighter and turned to face me with a shocked expression on his face. "Let's go Ryan, I have to take you to orientation." I softly grabbed my brother's wrist and quickly moved past the boys. I was in no mood for social interactions with anyone.

As we crossed the street towards the tall, looming building of Hawthorne Prep, I heard the group of boys talking. Apparently, they were incapable of whispering.

"Aiden, that girl totally embarassed you!"

"SHUT UP!"

"That was interesting."

"I SAID, 'SHUT UP!'"

I shook my head and kept moving until we were out of earshot. "You weren't very nice." Shocked, I looked down at Ryan who was staring forward. "You could've been nicer. You don't always have to let your anger get the best of you." _But my anger is all I have…_

I huffed, "Well, it's hard, all right? Besides, it's not like it matters. In this school, I'll probably never see any of them again." We pushed through crowds of people as I followed the signs that pointed towards the auditorium. I felt myself get agitated as I held tight onto Ryan's wrist so as not to lose him.

Ryan sighed, "You'll never learn will you Annabel?" His eyes casted down to the ground, and his shoulders sagged. I could tell how disappointed he was in me. Then, he muttered again to me as he stood at my side, "You'll never learn what it means to have a friend, will you?"

_Nope._

By then, I found the auditorium where all the seventh graders had to go for orientation with a legal guardian. Since my father was not available, the dean approved for me to take Ryan instead. Hawthorne Prep was two parts, a middle school and a high school, which meant Ryan and I had classes in the same building. "We're sitting back here." I led Ryan to the farthest corner of the auditorium, and we sat down. I placed my feet on the seat in front of me and crossed my arms. "I already hate it here."

Ryan sighed, "So easy to hate. So hard to love." Mom used to say the same exact thing when Ryan and I were younger.

I chose to ignore his statement and observed the room. There were two exits behind us on either side of the wide room. The seats were centered, and there were about twenty rows total. There was a stage set up, with a podium and microphone, and near it was a line of seats filled up with teachers. I shut my eyes and rested my head back, too frustrated to want to deal with any of this.

"Hello there," I jumped and lifted my head to see two of the boys that we had run into before. Up close now, I realized that the tall one had to be in his late-twenties or even early-thirties. He had a wide grin on his face as he pushed his long hair off his shoulder. "I'd thought this area would be empty. I'm not a fan of crowds, and I plan on sleeping. I've been to these already with my other brothers so…it gets quite repetitive by the second time." The smallest boy sat down next to Ryan and from behind the layers of long black hair, stared curiously.

"Who are you?" I demanded seeing as how, right now, these strangers were sitting next to my brother. My blood was boiling as I wondered how I could protect him in case of an attack. The older of the two smirked at me as if we were long lost friends and he was the only one who remembered.

"Annabel," Ryan whispered calmly, "You don't have to be so paranoid." He patted my hand with his own, just like mom used to do whenever I got angry in public. I hated that he was acting more like a parent now, instead of me, seeing as how I was the one in charge of taking care of him. "Really, you don't need to panic over everything," Ryan added.

_Oh, but I do. I really do._

"Annabel? What a lovely name," the oldest said. I frowned and glared at him. "My name is Demetrius Alderic." He held out a hand, but I refused to shake it. He pulled his hand back and stared at me, "You're a very interesting person aren't you," he inquired.

"I'm still too young for you," I retorted. Demetrius laughed and rested his hand on his chin. He kept watching me. "I'm not interested," I replied, turning my head away from them.

"I never meant anything like that," Demetrius defended. I still kept my eyes on the stage in front of me though. "This is my youngest brother, Kari. The other two you saw with me, well the one who _didn't_ yell at you was Namir, and the one who did was Aiden. They're both juniors. Namir's eighteen, and Aiden's seventeen. What about you, Annabel?" I felt my fists tighten when he said my name so lightly…so casually.

"Annabel's a junior too! She turned sixteen last June." Ryan said excitedly. I turned my head to stare at my brother. I was about to tell him to stop talking, but I couldn't. He sounded happy, and I'd never stop that. "I'm only a seventh grader, and I'm still eleven. My name's Ryan Hartman. It's nice to meet you." He gave a genuine smile and my heart broke, because he never smiled that way anymore. At least, he never smiled like that since mom died. He gave the kind where his lips pulled back to show his white teeth, and his eyes squinted. I missed seeing that smile.

"I'm eleven too. Are you new to the school?" For the first time, I heard the youngest, Kari, whisper. His voice was so light that I had to strain to hear it. He lifted his eyes to the both of us. He was fiddling with his small hands, and for being a seventh grader in high school, he seemed much younger.

"Yeah, we just moved two weeks ago." Ryan answered. Suddenly the two younger boys broke into a conversation, and I leaned back in my chair to ignore them. I felt myself drifting into a depressing sleep, but I made sure to remain alert enough to break for the exit if it was required…

… "_Your mother died, and it's all your fault. You know why she died. You know why…" Opening my eyes I stared into darkness. The voice was still echoing in my sleep. I shivered at the familiar sound. "Her blood is on your hands."_

"_I never asked her to do it," I whispered. I was scared and weak, two things that I was never allowed to feel growing up. But with this voice, the second I heard it, I broke the tough charade I put on for everyone else._

"_Oh, but she had to."It hissed. I looked around for the enemy that never let me be. For two months, in my dreams, I could never escape. I waited to see it, but everything was so dark that I couldn't even see my own hands._

"_No," I shook my head. The darkness was closing in, as impossible as that sounded. I felt like I couldn't breathe, but I felt the need to try and explain myself. "She had a choice…she made the wrong choice. I never wanted that for her." Tears were falling down my eyes lightly as I collapsed onto the ground. I kneeled down. I wished to hide my face, I was so ashamed of my tears, but the air was too heavy. I couldn't lift my arms up in order to cover my weakness. "She made the wrong choice."_

"_You should've known better…"_

"_I didn't know! How was I supposed to know? I was born this way."_

"_You killed her," the voice hissed._

"_No, I didn't," I whispered. "She just made the wrong choice. SHE DID IT TO HERSELF!" I sobbed uncontrollably. I wouldn't willingly cry like this. I had always been able to hold it back except in my sleep. _

"_No, it was you. Admit it." I shook my head as the voice grew louder. "Come on Annabel, you know better. She was a good mother, wasn't she?" I didn't respond. "Why is she dead? She had no curse on her like you. She's dead because she sacrificed her life for you, so why won't you admit it."_

"_She made the wrong choice," I insisted between short breathes of air. The world fell back away from me, as the darkness formed into a shape. There stood the shadow that forever haunted me since the day my mother was killed. I felt my entire body go rigid. "She made the wrong choice," I muttered. When I finished my sentence, the shadow started towards me slowly. I kept repeating those words, hoping the shadow would believe me, but it didn't work. Just as its hand wrapped around my neck, I could only manage one more word. "No!"I flung myself forward and opened my eyes…_


	13. Iggy Loved Max

**WHAT IF…**

Iggy Loved Max

Alright, I had made my peace with Fang. It's part of the whole code after all, you know? Bros before Hos (although if she heard me say that, I would be locked in a cupboard under the stairs forever and no owl would ever come with a letter for me). There was just something about Max and Fang that I couldn't really get between anyways, there was this invisible bond that kept them so dang close.

At first, it really pissed me off. When Max would be so wrapped up in her worries about Fang that she would sit there for countless hours staring off in the distance. I mean, I could've made the world's most horrendous "That's what she said" joke, and Max wouldn't even look at me and call me "Sexist Pig" like I loved to hear her say. But, after awhile, I had no choice but to push it aside—once they went public and everything.

Not to mention the countless Fanfictions screaming "FAX!" left and right.

(Plus the amount of Figgy over Miggy? What's up with that?)

But, Fang screwed himself over. He LEFT once again, and this time, without any one of us. Now, he was like the runaway bride. No one wanted to think of him anymore. He had officially severed himself off, so we had to forget him by law. He was no different then Jeb, except even more so of a traitor. Max LOVED him after all, and he just skedaddled (what a great word, might I add). A guy who runs from Max—man, he's got to be crazy to mess with that fury…until I "saw" her.

Max… crying her eyes out. She didn't dare to let the younger kids see or hear, being our strong leader. But, I stood in the room, my back resting against the door, only thinking of what she might look like. Her brownish blonde hair all messed up, her arms hugging onto her legs, as she took comfort in her bed. I could hear her folding and unfolding his letter, rereading his words and then crying again. My heart squeezed tight, knowing there was nothing I could do. Telling inappropriate jokes and pissing her off were my only specialties, besides being secretly in love with her. And I have this feeling that unrequited loves just aren't helpful in these types of situations.

Max eventually emerged from her room, but as for her state of depression, she simply buried it. Her footsteps sounded like death, dragging around the house and proceeding outside. She would call out that she would go for a watch. Her senses were so distorted that she never even noticed me following her. As she remained resting on the highest branch of a tree, I listened to her hallowed sobs as her lungs gasped for air. Damn Fang, I hated him. If he was going to do this to her, why did he even try to make things work? If I had known, then I would've tossed the holy Bro Code aside and stepped in the way. Max had so much on her shoulders, and Fang, the selfish jerk, had to go and make it worse.

I can no longer stay silent—for Max's sake.

* * *

We were all quiet, sitting at the breakfast table. Gazzy, especially, seemed to be building up for his epic finale that would clear the room. "Can I have the syrup?" I held up my hand. The plastic bottle hit my hand and I wrapped my fingers around it. "Thanks."

"No problem," I paused at the sound of the voice. I would've thrown the syrup back, if it weren't for my extreme bird hunger demanding for the pancakes. But, this bottle had been touched by _him_, the self-proclaimed (backed up by Jeb and maniac scientists) soul mate of Max. I think his name began with a D, but I could careless.

Man, did he put a damper into my plans.

Of course, Max had bluntly ignored him and given him plenty of snappy remarks. She had also given him hell during his flying lessons. _That was my Max._ With Fang out of the picture, I had no problem going against this "Abercrombie model"…as Nudge described him.

Breakfast passed, the younger kids went to go watch an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. In later years, I would've gladly joined them and taken part in the fun, but since Fang left, I had to prove myself. Yes, I was Max's "Sexist Pig", but I had to also be her new right hand man. I had to make her forget about Fang, and not even think once about Mr. Genetically Modified to be Perfect, who had now disappeared to go fix his hair or something.

"Here Max, I'll help." I stepped beside her, listening to her washing the dishes. I found the towel resting on the counter, while I held out an open hand. She placed the glass in my hand and I began to wash it before placing it in the drying rack where I had memorized its position. That's right, I had _memorized_ the exact location. Talk about the new and improved and more mature Iggy. We continued our assembly line until it happened—I dropped a plate and it shattered around the ground. "Sorry," I dropped to my knees and hands, frantically feeling around for glass.

"Iggy, be careful before you cut yourself." Max's hands wrapped around my wrists and stopped me. My heart was the only one ricocheting off of my rib cage…no big deal.

"I've got this," I yanked my hands away. "Just because I'm blind Max doesn't make me incompetent. And you don't have to look after me. You always look at me like I'm one of the kids, like you forget I'm fifteen too." My hands picked up the larger shards of glass and placed them up on the counter. I could hear Max's slow, calm breathing. "Where's you're angry retort, huh? Aren't you going to tell me I'm the most immature person you've ever met?"

Max let out a sigh, so weak and sad that it hurt me to hear it. She was supposed to be tough Maximum Ride—could she only be that with Fang? "You're right, I'm too selfish and wrapped up in my own concerns to notice anyone," I paused. This was just getting worse as it went along. Max admitting that I was _right_ over her? No, this couldn't happen, especially not when I could hear Sponegebob Squarepant's theme song in the background. What could I do to make her be Max again? Was Fang really that important to her? In his absence, she had lost everything that made her the Max I loved? No, I refused to believe that.

Fang had lost.

I would be the one to win Max back.

My fingers tightened on the glass, the pain finally being received by my pissed off mind. "Ow," I released the glass and listened to it shatter. The feeling of blood oozing from a wound was sickeningly familiar. "Gripped it too hard," I explained, holding my palm out to let the air touch the stinging pain.

Max's hands suddenly held my hand, observing the severity of the wound. Judging by her calm demeanor, it must have been on 1 on Max's Panic scale, meaning not so bad. I listened to her rise to her feet, tear a piece of paper towel, and then turn on the faucet. Before I could count to three, she was carefully kneeling back down and pressing the wet paper against my hand, wiping the blood away as best as she could. "You made a mess. Learn to control yourself," she muttered, her voice still sad.

"That's what she said."

_Did I really just say that?_ I had spent countless months trying to win Max over, trying to convince her that I was mature and better than Fang. Yet, here I was, making yet another joke. I bit my lip and dropped my head in shame. A sharp pain erupted through my hand. "Ow, what was that for?" Max had unexpectedly squeezed my hand as tightly as she could before releasing her grip.

"Sexist pig," she criticized.

I listened to the sound of Max stomping her feet as she stormed away. For a moment, I sat in complete and utter shock. It had been so long since she had done that, because she was so lost in Fang _this_ and Fang _that_. But no, for once, Max revealed that Fang didn't make her the Max I knew and loved. I was the only one who could draw out that angered, annoyed voice as she called me by a name she gave no one else. I could only help but smile.

From that one point, I could draw Max out from her depression. Instead of thinking of Fang, I could say a sexist joke and she could snap out of her thoughts and focus on me. Her attention would no longer be of the one who left her, but of the one who had stayed beside her. Fang might be the Edward Cullen to my Jacob Black, but I wasn't going to be some sissy werewolf that just gives up and falls in love with a baby (mostly because that's creepy). Instead, I would make Max smile and move on from Fang. All she had to do was call "Sexist Pig" and I would be there.

* * *

**Long time, no update. I apologize! I've always loved writing for this fanfiction, but I was lacking in ideas for awhile. If you have some ideas, feel free to post them in a review. i'll take them into consideration. This one was focused around the time of Angel, but there's no specific outline to these. **

**If you _really_ like my writing, please read my other fanficions. And if you _REAAAALLLY_ like my writing, go to the website Lulu (dot) com and purchase my novel _Counting Stars_ by Rose Schroth. You can find links to my novel, as well as to my blog and several other of my webpages, on my fanfiction profile page. So be sure to visit! Especially check out my Youtube channel, I made a promotional video for Counting Stars on there. Also, Counting Stars sequel is going to be released on September 10, 2011. So don't wait to read the first one!**

**If another idea arises, I will gladly post here. No promises though, I have lots of other writing projects to get done.**

**Lots of Likes,**

**Rose Schroth**


	14. The Dark Blue

_Hi everyone! _

_I know you're expecting another update to these wonderful stories, but I am afraid that is not the case. That does not mean, however, that you won't get some enjoyable work of mine to read. I would like to let you know that my novel, __The Dark Blue__, the sequel to __Counting Stars__ is being released on September 10, 2011. Here, I am including the synopsis as well as Chapter 1. I hope you enjoy it._

_Rose Schroth_

* * *

"**Destiny will run its true course."**

Life refuses to be normal in the case of Annabel Hartman. As summer begins, she sets out to break the Alderic's curse. But things aren't as easy as she had hoped.

Henare, the head of the family, makes his appearance, as does the final element—metal.

Demetrius' intentions prove to be questionable at best.

And the worst of them all?

Annabel's friendship with Aiden is tearing at the seams.

In the sequel to Counting Stars, all that remains in the dark will be revealed, and the destiny of Annabel Hartman will finally be fulfilled.

* * *

_Chapter 1_

"Aiden."

At the sound of his name, Aiden Alderic turned his bright eyes on his only friend, Anna Hartman. Her voice was sweet and quiet, just barely a whisper as the two of them sat there together on the roof of the Alderic home. Aiden watched her as her eyes connected with his. With a raise of her chin and a shrug of her shoulders, she finally finished what she had started. "Can we be friends?"

"Forever," he replied without thought. Suddenly, his eyes went wide as the memory came rushing back. Every single question in his mind was suddenly answered. Anna caught the way his skin went pale and the way he suddenly looked at her differently. But he couldn't tell her what was going on.

Annabel was no longer the person he had met seven months ago on the first day of school. She wasn't just the girl who was his best friend that knew his deepest secret and never left him. She wasn't just the girl he was secretly in love with. That slight exchange of conversation had changed everything that he knew and switched it around. Suddenly, she was more than Aiden ever realized she could be.

"Aiden?" She asked, and he sensed that she was nervous. Instead of answering her, he shut his eyes for just a moment as he lay down. His hands were beneath his head as he opened up his eyes once more so that he could see the sky. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her frown. "Aiden, what's going on? Just tell me, all right?" Aiden quickly turned his attention on her. He laughed and smiled at her.

"It's nothing, Anna," he assured her. She released the breath she had been holding in. "For now," Aiden whispered, "Just count some stars with me." Instantly, she rested down next to him. Her arm slightly touching his as they both stared up. Aiden began to count each star, but it didn't stop the frantic thoughts inside of his head.

_We lay there counting stars, but I barely say the dark night sky above me. My heart was beating with excitement and realization. I was once asked if I remembered, and now I did. I was once told that it was all my fault that Annabel's life was the way it was, and now I knew it truly was. I was the one who ruined her entire future. It was all my fault because of something that had happened long ago. How I never made this connection until now was a mystery to me. If Anna knew, she would never forgive me. She would hate me, and I would lose her. But, I didn't deserve her friendship. Knowing that I was the reason behind her pains, I wondered how she didn't even remember. We had met each other once before, six years ago, and that was the beginning to Anna's years of heartache…_

"Demetrius, why are you taking us to a park in another town?" Twelve-year-old Namir asked as the four Alderic brothers stepped outside of their car. Namir's black hair moved about in a soft, cold wind. To make it stop, he tapped his six-year-old brother, Kari. The young child stared at Namir as the wind died down. A look was shared between them as Kari read his brother's mind.

Demetrius, the oldest brother and only guardian of the younger three, was just twenty-four as he kneeled down in front of Namir. With a laid back smile that hid all of his true intentions, Demetrius placed a hand on Namir's shoulder, "To get away from everything for a bit. You guys deserve to have some fun." By everything they needed to get away from, the three boys that stood there knew their brother meant the terrible curse the four of them shared. "Namir," Demetrius continued, "Watch Kari all right? He's still young, and we can't have him slip up in public." Namir nodded his head and smiled. Then, eleven-year-old Aiden, who had been silent and angry as usual, became Demetrius' center of attention. "Stay out of trouble, all right?"

Aiden glared at his brother. His hands formed into his fists, he stomped his foot, and yelled in a low whisper, "Shut up! Water boy could mess up too! It's not fair that you act like he's better than me. He's not perfect!" Aiden felt his skin heat up. In frustration, he took a deep breath to cool the fire in his blood. "Why must you always act like it's me?" His voice was a dull, weak whisper. "It's not me all the time," he muttered.

"But it is," Namir muttered under his breath, "It's always because of you. Remember when Emi found out? Whose fault was that? Oh right, it was yours." Aiden went to attack his brother, only to have Demetrius stop him by stepping in between. Namir glared at Aiden past their brother's open arm. "Look here dragon breath, just stay away from people. Last thing we need is for you to set a bunch of innocent people on fire. Come on Kari, let's go play." Namir took the youngest Alderic out to the playground.

Demetrius ruffled Aiden's hair, but he pulled away. "Just go play." Demetrius smiled wide. Aiden kept his gaze on the children playing on the monkey bars and slides. They were so happy. He hated that. "Try to make a friend for once," Demetrius commented. Aiden growled in disgust. His brother sighed at him while standing up. "I'll be over there, all right?" Demetrius walked away and sat down on a bench next to an older woman.

Walking to the swings, Aiden was suddenly pushed to the ground. His hands caught him just in time to stop his face from hitting the sidewalk too hard. He grumbled in hate as he heard the giggling child run off without a care in the world. Aiden would've been upset that no one noticed him if it wasn't for the fact that he was used to it. He picked himself up only to be astounded by the sight before him.

Just by the empty swing set, a young girl, his age, stood there. The crazy world of childhood seemed blockaded away from her. She was just standing there staring up at the blue sky. Her brown hair was blowing in the natural wind. Her cheeks were red, and her mouth was set in a determined line. In an instant, she turned her back on him as she kept her eyes up.

Without much thought, Aiden walked over to her. His feet stepped onto the mulch, and she turned around at the sound. His thin pre-teen arms wrapped around her shoulders into a gentle, timid hug. At the movement of her arms around his waist, he released the nervous breath he had been holding in. She had accepted him. Suddenly, his heart felt like it was about to burst from happiness. Then, in a soft whisper, he heard her gentle voice ask him, "Can we be friends?"

"Forever," Aiden replied without a thought.

_How could I have forgotten Anna? Why is it the moment I saw her that first day of school, I didn't recognize my one and only friend from my childhood? She had changed, there was no other explanation. As a kid, Anna smiled happily. She was so open. It was as if she had no secrets to hide. Just being around her made me a better person. In the short time that I knew her back then, I smiled and felt wanted. Before her, my eleven-year-old self never knew what it meant for someone to actually see me. The Anna that came into my life later on, however, was angry and closed off. She was more like me. There was no way I could've connected the girl of my past to the Anna of my present._

"Aiden?" At the sound of her voice again, Aiden was pulled from his thoughts. Anna was sitting up now with her arms resting on her knees. "It's getting late," she commented. He could see his old friend in her now. She had the same dark blue eyes that hid layers of underlying thoughts and emotions that Aiden never understood. Suddenly, Anna yawned and stretched her arms over her head. The sleeves of her red shirt didn't cover up the pale lines that the stars lit up. Aiden frowned at the sight of her scars, remembering that Ritayu, a member of his own family, had done that to her-all to keep her away from him and his brothers. Anna sighed when she saw that Aiden was upset. "I'm all right Aiden," she reassured him.

Aiden sat up, and stared her right in the eyes. He didn't quite believe her. Just a week ago, she had almost died. Ritayu had tried to kill her. Aiden was so close to losing her. But, he held back all his worries and simply asked, "Are you sure?" Anna nodded her head, but it wasn't a good enough answer for him still.

"You don't need to take care of me," she defended. Aiden sighed. He knew she would be like that. A part of him wanted to tell her that he had to take care of her. He was compelled to make sure that she was never hurt by him or anyone else. Aiden wanted to protect her because he loved her more than he should. But, he also knew the only reason Anna needed protection was because of him.

Anna's head suddenly rested on his shoulder, which caught him by surprise. Not too long ago, the gesture would've sent his heart racing, and Aiden would have had no clue as to what it meant. He knew now. He knew why she was his world, why there was no life without her, and why he needed her. Aiden pretended as if he didn't feel a thing though as he whispered to her, "All right, I think it's time to go. I don't want you to fall asleep and then roll off the roof."

Anna lifted her head and looked at him. Her nose crinkled at the bridge as she shut her eyes and smiled. Her small laugh echoed out into the silent night. Aiden had no choice but to smile as well. He couldn't help himself around her. "I guess you're right," Anna replied.

_Slowly, she was letting down her walls. Anna, whether she knew it or not, was becoming the girl I had met six years ago at a park in a town I never visited before. Knowing it was her all along that had always accepted me, I thought that it was destiny. It just so happened that on the day I was there, she would be there too. The girl who I would fall in love with, it was her…but, ultimately, it was me that ruined her life. If she had never met me that day, her mother would still be alive. She wouldn't have those scars. But seeing her smile and laugh again made it worth being a part of her life, and showed how selfish I truly was. Anna trusted me, she told me her darkest secret that she was meant to save the world, and yet, I was hiding more secrets from her than I should be allowed. She trusted me again, like she had those many years ago on the one day in my childhood where I had a real friend. But, Anna didn't know that, she didn't remember…_

Young Aiden and Anna sat side by side on the swing set. Around them was the excitement of the children. They were screaming with happiness as they ran about, but the two new friends were silent. Aiden stared at her as Anna slowly rocked back and forth with her eyes facing forward. He didn't know her name, and she didn't know his, but he didn't feel the need to ask. They were meant to be friends, he could tell.

Suddenly Anna smirked, "That's my brother." She lifted her delicate finger out to the group of children. Aiden recognized the kid who had pushed him to the ground. He was scrawny and small, most likely around Kari's age. Aiden nodded his head to show her that he saw who she was pointing too. "Do you have any brothers?" She asked.

"Yeah," Aiden admitted. No one had ever asked him questions before. No one had ever taken the interest to. He felt his palms go sweaty on the chains of the swing. "Demetrius is the one over there who is sleeping. He's our guardian. He thinks I always get into trouble." Aiden turned his pointer finger from his oldest brother to his sworn enemy, Namir, and his younger brother, Kari. "Those are my brothers too. Namir, he's a jerk. Don't talk to him. Kari's the youngest. They don't like me." Aiden sighed as Anna's eyes turned to him. He averted his attention away from her. "No one likes me," he muttered. He dug the toe of his sneaker into the mulch. His knuckles were sore from his tight grip on the swing.

Suddenly, a cool hand reached over and managed to take his right hand away from the swing. Fingers, soft and gentle, intertwined with his in one fluid motion. Aiden's heart sped up in shock as he lifted his eyes up to Anna. Their hands hung in the air between them. Her hold was strong as if she was telling him that she would never let go. "It must be hard," she reasoned, "To feel like that." Aiden turned his eyes away from her. He figured she just pitied him. "But it's not true, you shouldn't feel like that, because I like you." His eyes darted over to her to see if she was serious. She had a gentle smile on her face as she squeezed his hand. "I mean it," she whispered, "I really like you."

"But," Aiden retorted, "We just met. You don't know me." Anna titled her head. Her hair swept over her shoulder. "You don't even know my name, and I don't know yours. What if I'm a monster? What if I'm cursed? You wouldn't like me then." She kept smiling though, which made Aiden nervous. She wasn't running away like the rest of the world. She was holding on to his hand still. "You don't know me," he repeated.

"But I do," Anna whispered. "I knew who you were the second you hugged me." Her gentle smile made Aiden begin to smile as well. "You're my best friend, I can tell. If you're cursed or whatever, that's okay. I'd never hate you." Aiden's grin grew wide and at that instant, there was a flash.

Both Aiden and Annabel jumped and looked behind them to see a woman standing there with a camera. Aiden recognized her as the one Demetrius had sat down next to. The woman smiled as he heard Anna groan in embarrassment, "Mom!" Aiden's mouth dropped open as he stared at the woman. She truly was his friend's mother. They both had long, chestnut brown hair and wide, memorizing grins.

The older woman approached them, "I'm sorry honey, but I had to." She looked down at Aiden, and he suddenly felt very aware that he was holding Anna's hand still. "Hello," she laughed as Aiden and Anna pulled their hands apart. Aiden blinked as a camera waved in front of his face. "Would you mind taking a picture of us, please?" Aiden nodded his head and took the black, small object.

Anna's mother took her daughter and stood in front of Aiden. "Uh…smile," Aiden said, hoping that was normal. He lifted the machine to one eye. "1…2…3…," there was a click and a second of dark blue nothingness until the sound of the camera running greeted him. He kept staring through the peephole at Anna and her mother still standing there smiling. He wanted to be in the picture, he wanted to be a part of it, even just for a second. Aiden sighed when he knew that could never happen. He put the camera down.

As he handed back the camera to her mother, Anna sat back down on the swing. "Honey, we're leaving soon," Anna's mother replied. Aiden's stomach dropped at the thought. Anna had only just entered his life. He didn't want to lose her already. "I need you to go get your brother for me." Then, her eyes were to Aiden, "Thank you for taking the picture. I hope you come to the park again sometime soon." Then, Anna's mother walked away.

Anna stood up. "I'm sorry that I have to go," she whispered. She kicked a few pieces of mulch away from her. She seemed upset, "I really don't want to." Aiden stood up so that he was in front of her. Anna lifted her eyes up to him and smiled, "You'd make a good friend to have." Aiden smiled. "Don't forget me, all right? I know I won't forget you," she admitted. A deep blush formed on her cheeks as she looked away.

"I won't forget you, never ever," he promised. Anna looked at him. In one quick second, she leaned up on her toes. She closed the space between them so that their lips touched for barely a moment. Then, she ran off without Aiden knowing if that had actually happened or not. Watching her leave, Aiden smirked. His only regret was never getting her name.

_Anna didn't remember when I told her the very story that started our friendship. She had promised me that she would never forget, but she had. It hurt to know that, but it didn't change the facts. All of this time, it had been about her. She was who I wanted to believe was meant to be with me. But…I was cursed. The reason for every single pain in her life since that day was because of me. In all truths, no matter how much I loved Anna Hartman, I could never be with her because of one remaining fact._

_It was all my fault._

* * *

_If you liked what you read, then purchase the novel on Lulu (dot) com. You can find it exclusively there as well as the first book. Don't miss out on my first series, and don't worry! I have another book that's going to be released in March of 2012, the start of a four book series. You can find out more about everything at my website, a link is posted on my fanfiction site._

_Thank you to those who constantly support me._

_Rose_


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